Saturday, July 30, 2005

W's appeal explained

My friend, Mike, forwarded this to me. If you need a laugh, check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Russell Bates, Comedy Central:

Harlan McCraney

Friday, July 29, 2005

DNC vs DLC?

From what I've read & heard, the main problem with our party is that we are split into two camps: the liberal Democrats (us) and the centrist DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) Democrats. To me, they are Republican-lites.

Of course, I'll take ANY Democrat over another Republican any day, but we should be aware of this.

From Daily Kos:

...Keep chasing the "vital center", and you'll prevent the Democratic Party from standing for core principles. The GOP polls to find the best ways to sell their agenda, the Democratic Party polls to find that "vital center", and then demands its politicians chase after those popular positions.

Yet time and time again, the public rewards those with convictions (Feingold, anyone?), and punishes those who wanter the political landscape aimlessly, with no moral compass or overarching core philosophy.

The netroots and grassroots both get it. The DLC doesn't. Instead of working as a team, they want to divide. They want to excommunicate certain Democrats from the party. They are as bad as the single-issue groups they love to decry. They are the enemy within. And Democrats that associate with them are telegraphing who they stand with.

Read the whole article here.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Best slogan so far: Karl Rove: The Voice of Treason


Email I received from MoveOn.org:

Dear MoveOn member,

It's been almost a week since we all started writing letters-to-the-editor about the Karl Rove CIA-leak scandal. So far a whopping 34,928 letters have been written by MoveOn members. That's a new record for us. The media is beginning to report on Rove again, but we need to create some buzz—the sort of public outrage you can see when you're walking down the street.

That's why we want to create a downloadable poster that you can print out and hang up in your office, home, locker, car and wherever else seems right. But here's the thing: we aren't quite sure about the right slogan to write on the poster.

Somebody suggested just putting up, "Fire Karl Rove." Another favorite was, "Fire the Liars." We thought the best thing to do was to open the slogan-writing to all MoveOn members. If you've got the slogan-writing bug you can take a couple of minutes to suggest something at the link below. If you don't have one in mind, you're welcome to read them and rate them.

Fire Karl Rove Slogan Contest

The collective ratings of MoveOn members will decide the winner. Slogan writing and rating ends at 8:00 PM Eastern on Tuesday, August 2, 2005. We'll then have a professional graphic artist design the downloadable poster that is the right size to print on a desktop printer and e-mail to all 3.5 million MoveOn members (with credit in the e-mail to the slogan's author). If you're the winner, we'll send you a framed copy of your poster in full-color.

The best slogans are short, witty and sometimes combine different clichés. For example, two years ago President Bush made now-infamous statements about "regime change" in Iraq. One slogan writer suggested, "Regime Change Begins at Home" as a good poster to kick off MoveOn's election efforts. It was short and witty. A lot of people downloaded and hung up that sign. If that happens this time, the poster is one way we can get the message out about Karl Rove's leak of the identity of an undercover CIA agent. (Did I mention that the slogan absolutely needs to be short?)

What should the poster slogan communicate? It should be solely about the Karl Rove scandal and his lies, but if it's generally applicable to the Bush administration, that's even better. (Examples: "Fire Karl Rove" or "Fire the Liars") But the judges are MoveOn members—impress all of us!

This poster campaign can begin to get the buzz going about Karl Rove and it will be fun too. We encourage you to check back periodically to see how different slogans are doing. Just click below to get started with your poster slogan or rate the slogans of other MoveOn members.

We're using MoveOn's ActionForum to let hundreds of thousands of people pour over all of the slogan submissions and vote on them. It is really easy and simple to use.

Thanks for all you do.

–Tom, Jennifer, Eli, Marika and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Thursday, July 28th, 2005

P.S. MoveOn members who live in the Washington-DC-area have been helping out in some extra ways. Hundreds of them showed up at three different protests to express public outrage about the Karl Rove scandal. They carried colorful signs and the video footage and photos from these protests have contributed to a lot of press coverage about the Rove scandal. Both Time and Newsweek magazines last week included four column photos. That's a circulation of 4 million among each publication. All the TV networks, The New York Times, the Associated Press and elsewhere covered the protests. Check out some photos from their protests at the link below.
http://political.moveon.org/firerove/photos.html?id=5868-3340402-83LWWfBD.GdfdyOQtFHXMw

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

New family member

A few months ago, Tom and I started talking about getting a bird. I have had birds in the past, so I knew what I was getting into. I did a lot of research and narrowed it down to three species: an African Grey, Eclectus, and parrotlet. In the end, I chose an African Grey parrot.

I found a breeder and put down a deposit on a 6 month old. (I didn't buy it outright because I don't have a cage yet.) We think it's a female, but we won't be 100% sure until I have a DNA test.

The bird will need a name. I usually chose people's names for my pets, but I'm not sure what to do with this one. I could pick a name that would blend well with my dogs names, Norman & Stella. Or, I could go with an African name. However, my favorite names are the ones that you would appreciate - Wellstone or Kennedy, but my family doesn't like those very much (for a bird.)

Any ideas?


African Grey parrot (not mine.)

Monday, July 25, 2005

My girl



Stella looking up and giving me a big smile.

In an insane world, my dogs help to keep me sane...although some may disagree with that last part..

Saturday, July 23, 2005

My boy



Norman & I hangin out in the backyard, on a hot summers day.

Pop Quiz: This pic cuts off the last letter on my shirt. What is it?

Thursday, July 21, 2005

(Am I) Jaded, or right?

Maybe it's just me, but whenever something big and/or horrible happens, my immediate thought is that Karl Rove had a hand in it. I think this prick would do or say anything to further his agenda (or at least keep his job.) Personally, I wouldn't put anything past him. Anything.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

We can walk AND chew gum!

I know the Supreme Court nominee news is important, however why can't CNN (and the like) cover more than one big story at a time? Do they think the general public is stupid, or is it just lazy journalism? You would think having a 24 hour news cycle would give them enough time to cover everything, but I guess not. And, don't get me started on network news - they really suck.


The Rove leak must stay foremost in the news. If journalists and reporters can stay on the ball and do their job, this story has the potential of unraveling the Bush presidency.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

1 Year Ago Today



My blog turns 1 year old today.
Would that make it a blog-birthday, or blog-anniversary?

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Isn't it time to Wag the Dog?

I'm sure many of you are wondering this as well...

With all the extremely well-deserved attention being paid to Karl Rove's treachery, isn't it time they raised the threat level or something? Come on, White House, where is the false distraction? Or, are you planning something extra, extra evil this time?

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

The Man Who Sold the World


(Click pic to enlarge)


Nice background, Karl.

Monday, July 11, 2005

White House Press Corps finally grows a pair

Wanna see something really, really excellent? Check this out, and please watch the whole thing. At about the 2/3rds mark, it will make you do a little happy dance (I know I did.)

From The Raw Story & Crooks & Liars:

White House press briefing Monday... Download the video in WMP or Quicktime here.

Or, watch the whole thing here: Press Briefing by Scott McClellan


Sunday, July 10, 2005

Sounds like treason to me

From AMERICAblog:

Something's not quite right about the Rove story
by John in DC - 7/10/2005 09:05:00 AM

So, we now know (apparently) that Rove told TIME that Ambassador Wilson's wife was a CIA agent (mind you, Wilson himself alleged this over a year ago and was skewered for suggesting it). Rove's defense, apparently, is that he didn't say what Plame's name was (he simply said "Wilson's wife"), and he didn't "know" that Plame was an undercover agent, he only knew she was CIA. Ok, a few points.

1. Whether he said "Valerie Plame" or "Wilson's wife" is irrelevant. It's the same thing, and if Bush tolerates this "definition of 'is'" garbage from Rove, well, then we really have a story.

2. Bush said he wanted to get to the bottom of this over a year ago. Why then did we have to waste all this money on a special prosecutor and a grand jury if Rove knew from day one that he was the guy who leaked Plame's identity? If Rove was so innocent, why didn't he just come forward immediately and say "yeah, it was me, but I didn't realize she was undercover"? Did he tell the president it was him? And if so, why didn't the president go public and put this investigation to an end? Or did Rove refuse the president's request and NOT come forward a year ago? And if so, what is he still doing working in the white House?

3. Perhaps it's legally relevant if Rove "knew" Plame was undercover or not, but it's not relevant in terms of him keeping his job. Rove intentionally outed a CIA agent working on WMD, it is irrelevant whether he did or didn't know if she was an undercover agent. First off, he knew she wasn't THAT public about her identity or there'd have been no need to "out" here - everyone would have known her already.

Second, the very fact that he appears to be claiming that he did NOT know about her undercover status is reason enough to fire him now. How dare the top political aide to the president out a CIA agent and not even think of checking whether she's undercover? I have worked before with CIA agents at several points in my career. The FIRST thing you learn is NOT to out them, period. If you don't know that they have some public CIA job, like spokesman, then you know from day one that you do NOT tell ANYONE who they are. It is totally unbelievable that Rove didn't know this simple fact about Washington - you don't tell people who is and who isn't CIA. Rove knew that, and he chose to out an agent working on WMD. The man should be fired.

The only remaining issue is to see if Bush starts haggling over the definition of is.

4. Who told Rove that Plame was a CIA agent? She was undercover after all.

5. Who was the SECOND administration source who leaked the info about Plame? Remember, Novak said TWO administration sources confirmed that Plame was CIA. Who was the second one?

Friday, July 08, 2005

Greed in it's most disgusting form

This is what we're dealing with, folks:

From Media Matters:

Hume's "first thought" on hearing of London attacks: It's "time to buy" futures

During Fox News' coverage of the July 7 London bombings, Washington managing editor Brit Hume told host Shepard Smith that his "first thought," when he "heard there had been this attack" and saw the low futures market, was "Hmmm, time to buy." Smith had asked Hume to comment on the lack of a negative U.S. stock market reaction to the London attacks.

From Fox News' July 7 breaking news coverage between 1 and 2 p.m. ET:


SMITH: Some of the things you might expect to happen, for instance, a drop in the stock market and some degree of uncertainty across this country -- none of that really seen today, and I wonder if the timing of it -- that it happened in the middle of the night and we were able to get a sense of the grander scheme of things -- wasn't helpful in all this.

HUME: Well, maybe. The other thing is, of course, people have -- you know, the market was down. It was down yesterday, and you know, you may have had some bargain-hunting going on. I mean, my first thought when I heard -- just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, "Hmmm, time to buy." Others may have thought that as well. But you never know about the markets. But obviously, if the markets had behaved badly, that would obviously add to people's sense of alarm about it. But there has been a lot of reassurance coming, particularly in the way that -- partly in the way the Brits handled all this, but also in the way that officials here handled it. There seems to be no great fear that something like that is going to happen here, although there's no indication that we here had any advance warning.


You can watch the video in Quicktime or Windows Media here


From Lizzy - How can this idiot, Brit Hume, still have a job? Oops, what am I saying, it's FOX News we're talking about.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Deleterious resolve

I am deeply saddened by the attack on London today. I am also furious. When I heard Bush's comments, it made me want to jump through the TV and ring his neck. Bush said. "I was most impressed by the resolve of all the leaders in the room. Their resolve is as strong as my resolve."

What resolve, George? The resolve to continue putting us all more & more at risk because of your deadly mistakes?

After 9/11, the world was behind us. Because of this administrations stupidity in all things, we have never been so hated...and vulnerable. I blame you, George. I blame you.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

I wish I had said that

My good buddy, Snave, posted some excellent quotes a couple of days ago. They were so good that I thought I'd repost some of them, and more:


Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.
Martin Luther King

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscentious stupidity.
Martin Luther King

When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.
Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Recife, Brazil

When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him whose.
Don Marquis

The bigger the lie, the more often it's told, the more who believe it.
Joseph Gobbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda

They will do whatever we let them get away with.
Joseph Heller

The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it.
Abbie Hoffman

Nothing wrong with a few professional protesters, when the world is full of professional oppressors.
Alan Bamford


I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.
Albert Einstein


The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King


I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness...
Allen Ginsberg


The superior person understands rightness; the inferior person understands profit.
Confucious


Only after the last tree has been cut down. Only after the last river has been poisoned. Only after the last fish has been caught. Only then you will find that money cannot be eaten.
Cree Indian prophecy


Don't agonize. Organize.
Florence Kennedy


If the ass is protecting the system, ass-kicking should be undertaken, regardless of the sex, ethnicity, or charm of the ass involved.
Florence Kennedy


If you give me a fish, you have feed me for a day. If you teach me to fish, then you have fed me until the river is contaminated or the shore line seized for development. But if teach me to organize, then whatever the challenge I can join together with my peers and we will fashion our own solution.
Ricardo Levins Morales



My favorites:

All truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.
Arthur Schopenhauer


The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.
H.L. Mencken

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
Mahatma Gandhi


One cannot say that all conservatives are stupid people, one can say that most stupid people are conservative.
John Stuart Mill


Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Albert Einstein

The important thing is never to stop questioning.
Albert Einstein

We cannot solve problems we have created with the same thinking that created them.

Albert Einstein

It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies.
Noam Chomsky

Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.
Cheris Kramer and Paula Treichler

A man who walks down the centre line of a road risks getting hit from both sides.
Alexander Zlatanovic

Be patient. It may take thirty years, but sooner or later they'll listen to you, and in the meantime, keep kicking ass.
Florence Kennedy

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
George Orwell

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Bush's speech was a resounding flop


Poster from The Propaganda Remix Project


From the DNC:

AFTER THE FIREWORKS: BUSH'S SPEECH WAS A DUD

The reviews are in: President Bush's speech this week was a resounding flop. His failure to offer the nation anything more than stale rhetoric and tired, disavowed links between the war in Iraq and the September 11th attacks was received with disappointment and skepticism by editorial boards and veterans across America. While President Bush refused to provide real answers or a clear path to success in Iraq, Democrats will continue to press for answers, will continue to fight to ensure our troops and their families have the resources they need, and will continue to encourage the president to stop exploiting the memory of September 11th for political gain.


Philadelphia Daily News

Editorial:"[A]s usual, the rest of his speech was laced with platitudes and falsehoods. The most offensive was the use of 9/11 to justify this war. Frankly, we're tired of it. And it seems most Americans are tired of it, too.""Bush's Last Stand On Iraq? Speech Will Ring Hollow When Casualties Hit 2,000" Philadelphia Daily News, 6/29/05]

Baltimore Sun

Staff Writer Tom Bowman: "President Bush stood before hundreds of soldiers last night and tried once more to connect the Iraq military operation to the Sept. 11 attacks, a time of national unity that has evaporated in two bloody years of fighting since Baghdad fell. Bush referred six times to the 2001 terrorist attacks, even though an independent commission found no link between Saddam Hussein and the attacks, nor any connection between the former Iraqi dictator and Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind."["Bush Offers Vision On Iraq, But Facts Seem To Differ" Baltimore Sun, 6/29/05]

TROOPS DESERVE MORE THAN BUSH'S "DISCREDITED" RHETORIC

During his speech, President Bush disappointed Americans. Instead of offering the American people a clear path to success in Iraq, President Bush returned to the same defensive and discredited rhetoric. The American people, and most especially our troops, who are serving with great courage, deserve better than discredited, shopworn political rhetoric from their Commander-in-Chief.

President Bush clearly linked the 9-11 attacks with the war in Iraq, implying that Saddam Hussein was involved and responsible for September 11th. However, the President himself was forced to disavow this link in September of 2003, after Secretary Rice and Rumsfeld stated there was no connection. Instead of offering the American people a clear path to success in Iraq, he returned to the same defensive and discredited rhetoric. Patriotism and love of country does not demand endless sacrifice on the part of our troops. The American people deserve honest leadership and honest answers.

Reagan Aide David Gergen "Offended" by Repeated Mention of 9/11. "I was troubled and offended by the regularity of coming back to 9/11, because as you say, none of the terrorists were linked to Saddam and there has been this myth for a long time that is not true that Saddam is somehow responsible for 9/11..." [CNN, 6/28/05]

WHITE HOUSE FORCED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THERE WAS NO LINK BETWEEN 9/11 AND SADDAM HUSSEIN IN SEPTEMBER OF 2003...

President George W. Bush: "No, we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th." [FNS, 9/17/03]

Condoleezza Rice: "...We have never claimed that Saddam Hussein had either, that Saddam Hussein had either direction or control of 9/11." [ABC, 9/16/03]

Donald Rumsfeld: "I've not seen any indication that would lead me to believe that I could say that [Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11th attacks]." [CNN, 9/16/03]

...BUT NOW BUSH IS RETURNING TO DISCREDITED RHETORIC

President George W. Bush:

"We went to war because we were attacked." [Radio Address, 6/18/05]
"This war reached our shores on September 11, 2001." [Bush Speech at Ft. Bragg, 6/28/05]



From Lizzy: We can only hope that the newly elected Democrats that unseat the Repubs in 2006 have the balls to bring up the "I" word. There has never been a more appropriate thing to do. GWB is the worst president ever...his whole admin should be prosecuted for war crimes and jailed.

Friday, July 01, 2005