Whoops he did it again...

That would be Dear Leader lying again. From USA Today:

A Bush administration task force recommended strongly Tuesday against letting U.S. citizens import lower-cost prescription drugs from other countries, saying "it would be extraordinarily difficult and costly" to ensure safety.

The findings, while expected, were a blow to advocates who want to legalize an already widespread practice. Tens of thousands of Americans, particularly seniors without a Medicare drug benefit, buy drugs from Canada in person or by mail. The government has not intervened, but the threat of prosecution remains.

Canada's government imposes price controls that make many big-name drugs, including some manufactured here, much cheaper than in the USA. Rob's Note: Translation - government CAN do something to lower the costs of drugs for seniors, when it wants to.

The anti-cholesterol drug Zocor, for example, is available from CVS.com in 20 mg pills for $135.99 for a 30-tablet supply. The same drug is available from CanadaRX.com for $92.09.

The task force report comes after a campaign in which many Democrats and Republicans supported legal importation. Even President Bush, whose administration has blocked it, said in a debate with John Kerry that he was open to importation if safety could be ensured. A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll last year found 71% of Americans favored it.

You voted for him seniors who need more affordable drugs, now you got him. Man, don't you wish you hadn't fallen for the gays on the ballot gag now? Read More......

Why does Brent Bozell hate Christmas?

Atrios has the goods on him. Read More......

Wednesday Night Open Thread

I was on such a roll with news that I forgot the expected open thread. Blame Laura Bush. That bitch. Read More......

Why does Laura Bush hate Christmas?

Uh oh. The wingnuts have finally picked up on, as was expected, my and other blog posts of the past day or two noting that the White House has turned its Christmas celebrations into the dreaded "holiday" celebrations. And as WingNutDaily notes, the White House Web site doesn't even mention Jesus. Imagine! A federal government Web site not talking about Christ our savior. Next thing you know there will be church Web sites failing to mention the Office of Management and Budget. What has America come to?

It has been noted that the Bushes' holiday card this year includes a Scripture verse. But, again, it does not mention Jesus.

This card has a line from Psalms, 95:2: "Let us come before him with Thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."

First lady Laura Bush supervises the card selection. She also picked cards with Bible verses when her husband was Texas governor

That bitch.

And then they go on to note how Bush participated in a menorah lighting ceremony and how he issued a Hannukah proclamation. Yeah, and? A little Jew-baiting going on from our friends in the far right? Bush also participated in the White House Christmas tree lighting. So what's their point in invoking the Jews? And of course, they don't miss a chance to take a pot shot at blacks either, noting Bush's Kwanzaa greetings. Again, so? What's their point? The president of the United States - the ENTIRE United States, thank you - should only recognize Christian holidays? Read More......

Polls show Bush as weakest president in 80 years

Now THAT'S my kind of mandate. So where is the liberal counterattack? The guy is just barely hanging on folks. So when are the Democratic/progressive groups going to fight back and prove their salt?

From Salon:

Republicans like to brag about the sweeping mandate that President Bush received on Election Day. But as he prepares for his second term, Bush approaches Inauguration Day with historically weak job-approval ratings, according to a series of new opinion polls. Unless there's a dramatic turnaround in public sentiment between now and Jan. 20, Bush will be sworn in to office with the lowest job-approval rating -- barely 50 percent -- of any president in the last 80 years, or since modern-day presidential polling began....

Since his 3-percentage-point win over Sen. John Kerry, Bush has experienced a complete lack of bounce in the polls. In fact, in at least one national survey, Fox News' Opinion Dynamics poll, conducted Dec. 14-15, Bush's approval rating has fallen five points in the last month, to 48 percent. In other polls, including Washington Post-ABC, NBC/Wall Street Journal, Pew Research Center, Associated Press-Ipsos, Zogby, and Gallup, Bush's already soft approval numbers have flat-lined since the election. That phenomenon stands in sharp contrast to U.S. history, when presidents voted into office for a second term, even after close elections, routinely have received robust approval ratings.

According to an analysis posted on the Gallup Web site in mid-November, Bush's current 53 percent approval rating "is actually the lowest of any of the last seven presidents who won a second term in the first poll conducted after their re-election." Right after securing their second terms, Bill Clinton received a 58 percent approval rating, Ronald Reagan 61 percent, Richard Nixon 62 percent, Lyndon Johnson 70 percent, Dwight Eisenhower 75 percent, and Harry Truman 69 percent.

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Have a "Blue" Christmas

SF Chronicle:

Do you care much that greasy ol' Pizza Hut gave tens of thousands in PAC money to the GOP last year? How about the fact that Taco Bell stopped pumping out their happily toxic semirancid meatlike substances just long enough to write a fat check to the conservative Right? Isn't that weirdly fascinating, in a depressing and indigestible sort of way?
Does it matter a whit that, say, Fruit of the Loom underwear gave nearly 100 percent of its corporate donations to tighty-whitey-wearing Republicans, nearly every one of whom I'm guessing wouldn't know appetizing undergarments from a flap of burlap and some string?

Do you think maybe it should? Matter, that is?

Read on. Lots and lots of details about which companies give to the Rs and which to the Ds. Read More......

Why does America hate Christmas?

I am so sick of these whiney evangelical Christian bigots (yes, I know all evangelical Christians aren't bigots, I'm talking about the bigoted ones). Yes, Christianity is under attack in a country that's overwhelmingly Christian. It's almost as if you're afraid to tell anyone you're Christian or you might lose your job. And Congress and the president are even trying to pass a constitutional amendment making Christians second-class citizens.

Oh, wait a minute. That's gay people.

So sick of these morons and their culture war. They want a civil war in this country, and I fear they're going to get one. Read More......

I think Bush was wired during his recent press conference

Folks, this is now way beyond conspiracy theory -ville. Check out the latest video of Bush's press conference two days ago. At 16 minutes and 47 seconds into the press conference, Bush is on a roll, then he suddenly stops, bends his head down, and mumbles something into his tie, then lifts his head and continues. If you ask me, he was telling the people feeding him lines to slow down a little. I'm serious, I know the mainstream media likes to poo poo these stories - of course they're the same folks who poo poo'd our concerns about the veracity of Bush's WMD claims - but there is just too much evidence at this point. The man is either certifiably crazy, has tourettes, or he's talking to someone via a mic in his tie. Which frankly really pisses me off, because it means he cheated during the debates. And the media let him off the hook because post-9/11 we don't criticize President Bush, it wouldn't be proper etiquette for a dictatorship.

There's a mirror copy of the video here, in case you can't get it from the other site. Read More......

Signorile takes on the Human Rights Campaign

Mike gets feisty with the Human Rights Campaign (the largest gay rights group, for those who aren't aware).

But a week later, HRC's heterosexual board co-chair Michael Berman was quoted in a front-page story in the New York Times explaining why gays need to tone it down in order to reach out to red-state America. Berman, who will take a leadership role until a new executive director is found, went on to say that the group would be willing to back George W. Bush's radical plan to privatize social security if it meant gays and lesbians and their partners could be included under the benefit. This was like throwing gasoline on a fire, sending activists across the country into fits of anger.

Far be it from me to criticize someone for their sexuality—some of my best friends are straight—but when you're firing your lesbian executive director and telling the world you're going to moderate your positions—on the front page of the New York Times, no less—it's perhaps not the best time to make a straight guy the mouthpiece of your organization. Imagine if a man popped up as a spokesperson for the National Organization for Women, telling the press that NOW will be "moderating" a bit on the issue of abortion. What if a white guy took over as NAACP honcho to explain why the group should consider "compromising" on affirmative action in light of Bush's victory?

If you read the rest of the article, there's a discussion of how Cheryl Jacques, the former ED, was fired for being too gutsy and bold on the marriage issue. No offense to Cheryl, I met her and she seemed like a good person, but no national gay group was gutsy and bold on the marriage issue last year - no one (other than perhaps Log Cabin, the gay Republicans). I'd really rather we didn't lose sight of the larger problem here - it's not an issue of whether Cheryl was gutsier than the board. It's an issue of why practically NO national gay group (or any other lefty non-profit in DC on ANY issue) showed ay balls this past year. There's a larger problem here - a problem of the lack of backbone and new ideas in the left in America - and until we all start focusing on that problem, it's not going to be corrected. Read More......

Gay students outed by high school to his parents, then forced to leave

All in the name of the Bible. These people outed this kid to his parents and threatened to expel him, all in the name of the friggin Bible.

When are these Bible-thumping, blasphemous, pseudo-Christians, who are nothing more than the reincarnation of the Crusades and every other tyrranical bully who falsely used God as a veil to defend their egomaniacal desire to dominate and subjugate the lives of others, ever going to wake up and realize that living a life based on hating they neighbor is going to earn them a special place in hell.

I am fed up with these people ruining our lives and ruining the lives of our children. This kid could have killed himself after what these false-faith jerks did to him. They're after our kids, folks. I've had it with them. This year, we're going to fight back and take no prisoners. Read More......

Dems Claim Win in Wash. Governor's Race

Despite the fierce efforts of the GOP to prevent vote counting, the Democrats are now claiming that they have won the Governor's race in Washington State. According to the Associated Press, Christine Gregoire is ahead by 8 votes.

Of course, the Repubs., who put up billboard telling Gregoire to concede, won't concede. They are going to court to challenge the results. Hmmm, didn't that strategy work for them in one other recent election. Let's just hope that the Washington Supreme Court lets the voters decide the outcome...and let's all the votes get counted.

Read More......

Christmas Eve Eve Eve Lunchtime Open Thread

Ho ho ho!

Ho # 1: Paris Hilton
Ho # 2: Nicole Richie
Ho # 3: Tara Reid

Add your own ho to the list! Read More......

So this is Christmas...

As my friend and I debated what was the gift on the 12th Day of Christmas, off we went to Google. Up comes this site, including an interesting reinterpretation of the lyrics to the song. However, right next to them was this ad:

Let's just start with how he looks. This is what Santa Claus has become? Santa looks like a crackhead. He has no teeth. What's with the tongue? What STD is that -- cause I don't want it. Can you see the look on the kids faces when this Santa rolls down the chimney on Christmas day?

Bust Santa's Zit? Are you kidding me? But I have to say, I just had to know what happened when you "Busted Santa's Zit". So up pops a zit, and the cursor turns into a hand. You move around Santa's face and when you squeeze his zit - I kid you not - exploding green goo. It was VILE.

Then you get to a screen where you can get a free iPod if fill in all this personal information to get your free iPod. Well, it is, of course, a scam.

Pathetic. Where is this scam based? In Red State North Carolina. Nice Christian Values.

Here's a real story about where Santa Claus came from, and about the real St. Nicholas. And here's another story about "Little Christmas", which I think is now looking like a much better holiday. But maybe that's just my Blue State Values. Read More......