Friday Orchid Blogging

Paph Temptation

This one is just starting to spike, as we say - meaning, it's just beginning to bloom, but the flower hasn't started to open yet. This is a huge plant, and it tends to throw out a lot of flowers - like 5 to 7 at a time on a long long long stem. I got this from a friend last fall. I thought it might be interesting to show it before it fully blooms - next week, I suspect, at least one flower might be open. And if you want a sense of what this could look like in full bloom, check out this link. Enjoy. Read More......

When Iraq's parliament goes on a two-month vacation in June and July, let's give our troops two months off at the same time

Fair is fair. Let's have our side go on vacation too, while Iraq burns, and much of the parliament gets either kidnapped or assassinated, and then see how much they enjoy THEIR vacation.

I'm serious. Someone ought to start a campaign demanding that our troops get as long a vacation as the Iraqi parliament. Read More......

Letter D pulls sponsorship from Sesame Street over inclusion of homosexual muppet

As you know, anti-gay bigot fringe religious extremist Jerry Falwell has been on my mind ever since he died a few days ago. And I started thinking about the time that Falwell went nuts over Tinky Winky, the purple Teletubby, because apparently Tinky Winky was gay and was going to convert all of the world's children to homosexuality (that's what Falwell claimed, really). It got me remembering a prescient article from The Onion about Sesame Street and the Letter D. It's a classic.

From The Onion:

Letter D Pulls Sponsorship From Sesame Street
Noted Consonant Alienated By Controversial New Gay Muppet

NEW YORK—A spokesperson for the letter D announced Monday that the consonant is withdrawing sponsorship from Sesame Street following a Children's Television Workshop announcement that a homosexual muppet will soon join the show's cast.

"The letter D is proud to have brought you many wonderful Sesame Street episodes throughout the program's 28-year history," said Patricia Willis, public-relations director for D. "But the letter D does not condone the sort of morally questionable lifestyles that Sesame Street is advocating with the introduction of this new character. It can no longer in good conscience associate itself with the show."

Willis said D's withdrawal is effective immediately, and applies to both capital and lower-case versions of the letter.

The gay muppet, "Roger," will be introduced on Sesame Street Dec. 23, CTW director Leslie Charren said. Thus far, no other sponsors have pulled out, though the number seven has requested an advance tape of the episode before it makes a decision.

Many public-television insiders believe D's withdrawal was motivated by a desire not to alienate religious conservatives, a section of the population that employs the letter frequently.

"D is for, among other things, demagoguery, dogma and doctrine, words crucial to right-wing groups like the Christian Coalition," said Yale University political-science professor J. Wright Franklin. "It is likely that D felt it could ill afford to offend such a large segment of its users."

While a long-term replacement for D has not yet been secured by Sesame Street, the number three will temporarily fill in for it in a number of the show's animated shorts. Other pieces will simply skip from C to E, with vocalists stretching out C into two syllables to match the rhythm of the alphabet song.

Sesame Street is stung by the sudden departure of its longtime supporter. Speaking to reporters, cast member Cookie Monster said: "Me disappointed letter D choose to end relationship with Sesame Street due to pressure from extremely vocal minority. We accused of endorsing deviant lifestyle. Me say homosexuality natural, not immoral. Diversity and enrichment. That's good enough for me."

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DC buzzing with rumors that Gonzales is quitting tonight

And to think Bush considered putting this bozo on the Supreme Court. That's how dangerous a president Bush is. And something to keep in mind the next election, that's how important winning the presidency is. No more Harriets, no more Albertos. And no more Brownies and Cheneys and Condis and Rummys and Wolfies... Read More......

Bush White House opposed 1/2 % pay raise for the troops

Yep. The Democrats are giving the troops .5% more of a raise than the Bush White House asked for, so the Bush administration is now opposing the legislation. Yeah, I mean it's not like the troops have earned a little extra over the past five years.

Tax cuts for the rich and big business? No problem. But if you're a soldier or a Marine, forget about it.

More on the issue, and the latest from Pelosi. Read More......

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 5/18/07

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

Yes my friends, once again that very same group of geriatric white men, looking an awful lot like a Helms family barbecue, assembled to offer various false nuggets of wisdom gleaned from years spent cheating on their wives, flip-flopping on the issues, and possessing beliefs more retro than Barbara Bush's hoop skirt collection.

This time the GOP presidential wannabes were in South Carolina, so I thought maybe they'd all pay tribute to Strom Thurmond and the glory days when you could bed the help without, you know, asking their permission or acknowledging your children. Yet, alas, they seem to have learned more from Trent Lott giving voice to his inner Klansman circa 2002.

But there were many other highlights this past half-fortnight. We learned that:

1) Being a Republican means you want to double the size of Guantanamo (Romney) - which I agree with on some level, as we all know that soon our prison system will be at excess capacity just housing members or The Bush Administration, Republicans in Congress, governors throughout the nation and various other GOPers seeking massages from hookers (not that there's anything wrong with it).

Now if you could only add Ted Nugent's music, Dennis Miller's jokes and Paul Wolfowitz' wet comb to the list of those to be added to solitary confinement, I might fully support this idea.

2) Being a Republican means you hate Ron Paul for raising questions about whether US foreign policy might have ticked off anyone anywhere in the world prior to 9/11, yet you love and miss the late grating Jerry Falwell who explicitly said we brought 9/11 upon ourselves.

3) Being a Republican means that for you a hospital - you know, that place you cut funding for, especially the ones serving our troops, so Ken Lay's wife can stretch to afford that fifth mansion - is a place where you want to force those in a persistent vegetative state to stay "alive" and allow those in a persistent criminal state to coerce signatures for laws that violate the Constitution.

4) Being a Republican means you spent more time on your photo-op walk through Baghdad than you actually do showing up to vote for a war you embrace more firmly than a 29-year old's neck in Don Sherwood's love nest.

You also like to have your "Independent" front groups do your dirty work in attacking Democrats' patriotism.

5) Finally, being a DEMOCRAT, means you probably shouldn't hire consultants who work for Silvio Berlusconi and Big Pharma, and you don't financially support Mitch McConnell and George W. Bush.

For more go to the usual spot, cliffschecter.com Read More......

"Ready to sit down" with Iran

I look forward to all the right-wing crazies clamoring about how Ambassador Crocker is a traitor, or something.

The United States ambassador to Iraq said today that he was "ready to sit down" any time with Iranian officials for talks on ways of stabilizing Iraq.

Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker’s remarks came on the same day that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking to reporters in Pakistan, said that talks between the two countries on that subject would begin May 28. The planned meeting reflects a growing willingness by the Bush administration to hold talks, even with foes like Iran and Syria, on ways of reducing violence in Iraq.

Does that make the people who have called for talks not traitors after all, or are the administration officials now traitors too? It's so hard to keep track . . . Read More......

Imus is threatening to sue if CBS doesn't give him his job back

Considering that so much of the pundit class didn't have a problem with Imus' over-decade of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and homophobia, he has an odd point. Namely, that CBS didn't warn him to watch it or else. CBS was fine with Imus' bigotry, so long as it brought them cash. And the pundit class had no problem going on his show - and many of them continue to defend him. Hell, John Kerry defended the guy. I don't think there's a chance in hell that Imus will get his job back, fortunately the wrath of the people won out on this one, but it is amazing what it takes to wake people up to the reality of hate in the year 2007. Read More......

Dems make huge concession on Iraq spending bill, Bush says no

What a surprise. The Democratics tell Bush that the timetables they were going to include in the legislation - the very part of the legislation that most troubles Bush - will only be optional. Bush can waive them at any time. Making them pretty much meaningless. Bush said no.

The man doesn't want to negotiate. It's Paul Wolfowitz all over again. These people don't negotiate. That would be to admit weakness, in their eyes. They do what they want, to hell with public opinion, to hell with YOUR opinion.

The Democrats just made a huge concession - a concession that many opponents of the war will likely be outraged over - and Bush said no. He doesn't care about changing course, he thinks everything is just ducky in Iraq. To Bush this is all a big game of chicken, geared towards helping his dismal approval ratings. To Bush, it's not about fixing Iraq - it's about showing he's a tough guy. We've been down this path before. It's why we're in this predicament in the first place. Read More......

Dobson tells Rudy to go to hell - knocks his multiple marriages, adultery, and dressing in drag

Well this is going to be fun. The religious right is finally playing the "divorce" card, something our Joe has been predicting for over a year now. They aren't interested in gay marriage, they're interested in all marriages, YOUR marriage(s). And they won't stop until all of America lives under laws that reflect the Baptist view of life.

A few excerpts from Dobson's broadside yesterday:

There are other moral concerns about Giuliani's candidacy that conservatives should find troubling. He has been married three times, and his second wife was forced to go to court to keep his mistress out of the mayoral mansion while the Giuliani family still lived there. Talk about tap dancing. Also during that time, the mayor used public funds to provide security services for his girlfriend. The second Mrs. Giuliani finally had enough of his philandering and, as the story goes, forced him to move out. He lived with friends for a while and then married his mistress. Unlike some other Republican presidential candidates, Giuliani appears not to have remorse for cheating on his wife....

One more question: Shouldn't the American people be able to expect a certain decorum and dignity from the man who occupies the White House? On this measure, as well, Giuliani fails miserably. Much has been written in the blogosphere about his three public appearances in drag. In each instance, he tried to be funny by dressing like a woman. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan, who loved a good joke, doing something so ignoble in pursuit of a cheap guffaw? Not on your life.

Very interesting that Dobson leaves the door open, above, for Republican candidates who cheat on their wives. Per Dobson, it's okay so long as you have "remorse" after the fact. Well, gee, thanks Rev. We'll all make sure to go and break every commandment and then some, then simply say "oops, sorry" and get your blessing for president. Jesus, do these people stand for anything?

Now watch Giuliani in drag making out with Donald Trump (really).

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Majority Leader Reid smacks Iraq apologist McCain for missing Iraq votes

An appropriate, well-deserved smackdown of John McCain from Harry Reid. McCain's out on the campaign trail giving speeches about Iraq, but can't find the time to actually vote on Iraq:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the only presidential candidate in Congress to have missed a major vote on the Iraq war this year, and his absences are not sitting well with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Liz Oxhorn, a spokeswoman for Reid, told The Hill, “Sen. McCain has spent considerable time defending the president on Iraq and catering to the Republican base on immigration, but has only managed to show up for four of the last 14 Iraq votes and parachute into [yesterday’s] immigration press conference at the last minute. Who is the real John McCain?”

McCain's staff's response was basically, yep, that's right. McCain is too busy campaigning to vote:

McCain’s campaign said the rigorous travel schedule necessary when running for the White House makes it extremely difficult to be voting all the time in Washington.

“Sen. McCain has traveled the country speaking to the importance of winning in Iraq and clearly stated that we must give the new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be too damaging to our nation,” Diaz said.

“Regrettably, it is impossible for a presidential candidate to avoid missing votes, but Sen. McCain has not missed a vote where his vote would have affected the outcome, and he will make every effort to be in the Senate on the occasions when it would.”

Regrettably, it is impossible for us to win in Iraq because Senator McCain and his GOP colleagues never held George Bush accountable. McCain can give all the speeches he wants. He blew it. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Wolfie's last day is June 30. Does Gonzales last that long? Bush is not going to like having two loyal Bushies lose their jobs under pressure in such a short time frame. And, remember the words of David Iglesias, the fired U.S. Attorney from New Mexico: I think all roads lead to Rove.

Starting to be fewer roadblocks on that road.

The latest? Read More......

Blair a contender for World Bank?

From one pro-war supporter to another. Doubtful, but how else is Blair going to find a job like this, since he is so widely disliked in international circles? Read More......

US government Arabic TV station broadcast anti-Israeli hate because no one spoke Arabic and knew what the guy was saying

Your tax dollars at work from the political party that doesn't think oversight of anyone is ever necessary. How many years is it after September 11 and we STILL don't have enough Arabic speakers in government? Oh that's right, Bush fired them all for being gay. (Not kidding.) Read More......