ThereIsNoCrisis.com

BlogPac launches a new Web campaign to inform the country that there simply is no Social Security Crisis. Check it out. And yes, I've lent a hand. (Full disclosure!
Full disclosure!) Read More......

Ho hum, more war and death

UPDATE: Ok, he's got a hysterical writing style, but the article is depressing as hell. Still, read it.

Hysterical column by Mark Morford. Read More......

Looking for volunteers to transcribe audio from time to time

Apparently, there's arisen a need to occasionally transcribe some of the audio I get my hands on from time to time, like the recent Mike Signorile interview with the crazy sheriff from Alabama. I've already had one volunteer, who used to work for a living doing transcription, and I believe someone already volunteered to start doing the Signorile audio.

So, if this is something you know how to do, and are willing to do from time to time to help our deaf blog visitors, that would be way cool of you.

If interested, either post a comment here or send me an email. In the future, I'll make a mention of a need for a transcription on the blog, and whoever is interested can call first dibs.

Thanks, JOHN Read More......

Evening open thread

I'm busy being arts and crafty, preparing my own literal inaugural protest. Pictures tomorrow when it's ready :-) Read More......

How much credibility do you have left Condi?

That much? That's what I thought.



Feel free to insert your own caption, it's been a while. Read More......

Why does Bush get better fireworks than the 4th of July?

They just had an explosion of fireworks all along the mall in Washington, DC to celebrate Bush's inauguration. The thing is, the disply was a hell of a lot better than the display they give us for the 4th of July in this town, and it is the nation's capital. So, what gives? Seriously. This guy is more important than the 4th of July? Bush and company could raise extra bucks to make HIS fireworks look extra fancy - they even had W fireworks - but they can't go the extra mile for our nation's birthday?

Oh, and I wonder how many tsunami victims the W fireworks could have fed? Just asking.

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Religious right freaking out that Bush and Mehlman are selling them out

Today's Wash Post:

President Bush came under fire from some social conservatives yesterday for saying he will not aggressively lobby the Senate to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage during his second term....

Last week, some Republicans complained that Bush's choice to head the Republican National Committee, Kenneth B. Mehlman, has picked an abortion rights supporter to be co-chairman.

Newsflash. They surround themselves with fags, and then you're surprised when they start to moderate their views on gay issues? Hello? Hard to bash a gay when he's your buddy working in the next cubible.

Not to mention, Bush knows that Mehlman and every other ambiguously-gay staffer he has is toast if he pushes this anti-gay crap any longer. We've had it and now we're striking back. If the GOP keeps gay-bashing, they're going to find themelves an outing campaign over the next four years the likes of which they can't even imagine. Scorched earth is putting it nicely. I'm talking about raising money, serious money, to expose the GOP's family values hypocrisy in a BIG way.

The gays and their allies have already proven we can do it, and successfully at that. If the GOP wants all out war over the details of THEIR personal lives, go ahead, make my day. Read More......

Bush says he supports the troop....it requires no action

This really slays me. The first event of the spendfest this week was a salute to the troops. Apparently, if Bush says he supports the troops, it's enough. The Washington Post headlined their story "A Salute To Troops Launches Inaugural Bush Offers 'Thanks For Our Freedom.'" Bush had this quote:

As we prepare to celebrate our nation's 55th presidential inauguration, I can think of no better way to begin than by giving thanks for our freedom and those who make it possible.

Hmmm, maybe instead of lip service, you could take some action to protect the troops. There are a lot of men and women serving in Iraq who might appreciate real equipment. And, I bet some of them would even like to know why the hell they are there in the first place. Or, even when their forced redeployments might end.

But Bush said he supports the troops. The Republicans say they support the troops. That's all that matters. Put that yellow ribbon on your car and you are officially supporting the troops. What bullshit. But hey, they got the headlines they wanted. So, that means they really do support the troops. Read More......

DOD tells US troops in Iraq that mixed-race units are bad

Ok, I can deal with the fact that the training manual we're giving our troops in Iraq is out of date, and that current DOD policy is not suggest that black people have no character. BUT, why is our state-of-the-art military, after four years of George Bush throwing money at it, having to rely on 60 year old out-of-date racist manuals to train our troops? Are things that bad? Not to mention, nobody could have ordered them to remove the racist references, or at least black them out (no pun intended)? What must soldiers who are African-American think when they see their buds reading and laughing at these passages? Why even put them in that position?

Typical non-chalance from Bush and Rummy. Read More......

DNC chair candidate Martin Frost just doesn't get it

I'm continuing to research the guy to find out exactly what makes him tick. What I'm finding is that while his voting record is overall prettty good, from a liberal perspective, he and his staff have said some troubling things.

For example:

After the Democrats' dismal showing in the mid-term elections [Nov. 2002], Mr Frost's spokesman, Tom Eisenhower, said the party needed to take note of the nation's shift to the right in the election and not select a leader from the party's left wing.

"The country didn't move to the left yesterday, and Democrats won't win back the majority by moving further left," he said, clearly alluding to Mrs Pelosi.

This is the problem with Frost, in a nutshell. He's one of those Democrats fixated on the minutiae of policy rather than the larger character issue that confronts the Democratic party. Frost is one of those people who thinks the Dems keep losing because their policies aren't conservative enough. That's the same kind of logic that led George Bush to recently say that the recent presidential election was a vote of support for Bush's failed Iraq policy.

People don't vote for the policy, they vote for the person. The presidential election wasn't about whether the voters thought Bush did the right thing in Iraq. Rather, they voted for which man, Bush or Kerry, gave them more confidence, or fewer qualms, in FORGING an Iraq policy. That's a big difference. It's not the specifics of the policy, it's the confidence in the man/woman to CREATE an effective and wise policy. The factors the puclic is voting on are therefore the CHARACTER of the politician rather than the details of his platform. And that character isn't defined by his being left, right, or centrist. It's defined by his appearing as if he has a consistent well-thought-out point of view, and the guts to defend it.

The last thing the party needs is more leaders who think we need to move to the right. Not just because I don't like the politics of Dems who move to the right. But more importantly, because that kind of analysis comes from people who fail to understand the character problem that is the real cause of the Democrats' recent defeats. And if that problem isn't addressed, we will continue to lose.

Martin Frost simply doesn't get it. And neither does way too much of the leadership of the current Democratic party. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Where is the debate over what really happened last year? Read More......

Ok, so they do look alike

PS I forget to put Ken Mehlman's name in here so Google would pick it up. So, Ken Mehlman. Oh, and gay. Not that I'm saying Ken Mehlman is a homosexual. I'm just asking if Mehlman is gay, and if Ken isn't, then why won't Mehlman say so? Ok, bye now. Read More......

We're here, We're the head of the RNC, Get used to it

Today is the day Ken "I refuse to say on the record if I'm straight" Mehlman gets picked as the head of the entire Republican party. In his honor, I'm posting this song. Read More......

Morning open thread

I get the best sunsets from my apartment. Enjoy.

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Foul-mouthed rock group sings at Bush twins inaugural party

They got rid of Kid Rock and got someone even worse! I love it! Read More......