Thursday, January 29, 2009

The White House Has A Plan!

More from Benen on the White House's proposed response to the zero votes by the Republicans in the House on the stimulus package:

The White House has invested quite a bit of time and energy reaching out to congressional Republicans. Late yesterday, the president's efforts were rewarded with exactly zero GOP votes on an economic stimulus plan. As the Politico reported when Republicans announced their opposition, the minority party "slapped" Obama's "outstretched hand," as part of a "coordinated effort to embarrass" the president.

We're starting to get a sense of how the White House plans to respond.

Pushing back against the unanimous House Republican vote against President Obama's stimulus plan, the White House plans to release state-by-state job figures "so we can put a number on what folks voted for and against," an administration aide said.

"It's clear the Republicans who voted against the stimulus represent constituents who will be stunned to learn their member of Congress voted against [saving or] creating 4 million jobs," the aide said.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the lawmakers will have to answer to their constituents. And a Democratic official added: "We will run campaigns in their districts."

What's more, Greg Sargent reports that a coalition of groups and unions, including Americans United for Change, MoveOn.org Political Action, AFSCME, and SEIU, are launching a new television ad "targeting Republican Senators and pressuring them to vote for President Obama's stimulus package."

The spot shows some arresting images of the recession -- chained up factories, empty warehouses -- and features Obama talking about our dire economic times and his economic package, an effort to harness Obama's popularity to push the plan at a time when Republicans are training their fire on House Dems, rather than the White House.
Perfect! They just don't get that Americans are sick of the Republicans and their point of view. Showing their constituency just how their representative voted against the stimulus package will make for some very angry constituents. And it is, after all, your public that elects you ... or not!

Bipartisan Translated Into Republican Speak = Zero

Paul Krugman doesn't mince words:

The House has passed the stimulus bill with not a single Republican vote.

Aren’t you glad that Obama watered it down and added ineffective tax cuts, so as to win bipartisan support?

As I already posted numerous times, there is no point in Obama reaching out to the quote other side unquote. There is no other side any more. There is only the American side. Congress needs to do what is right by America, not the lobbyists, not Wall Street, not the banks, not the oil industry, not the automobile industry, but everyday, ordinary Americans, like the 2.6 million that have lost jobs during the Bush Administration's tenure.

Obama, listen up ... you heard the voice of the quote other side unquote. (crickets chirping). No more Mr. Nice Guy, ok?

Just a little bit more, courtesy of Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly:

President Obama went to great lengths to reach out to House Republicans, trying to get them to support an economic stimulus in the midst of an economic crisis. The president not only offered them more tax cuts than seemed necessary, he also acted swiftly to remove spending provisions -- family planning, National Mall renovations -- that they mocked.

The entire Republican caucus, we now know, balked anyway. Time's Mark Halperin, naturally, is blaming Obama. From this morning's appearance on MSNBC:

"This is a really bad sign for Barack Obama to try to change Washington.... He needs bipartisan solutions. They went for it and they came up with zero.... [This] does not bode well for a future that is supposed to be post-partisan. [...]

"[Obama] could have gone for centrist compromises. You can say to your own party, 'Sorry, some of you liberals aren't going to like it, but I am going to change this legislation radically to get a big centrist majority rather than an all-Democratic vote.' He chose not to do that, that's the exact path that George Bush took for most of his presidency with disastrous consequences for bipartisanship and solving big problems."



It's hard to overstate how foolish this analysis is.

Halperin believes, for reasons that are unclear, that the paramount goal was to win the support of lawmakers who were wrong and who were advocating bad ideas. It's not about what works, or what would actually improve the economy in the midst of a serious recession. What really matters is "bipartisan solutions." Why? Because Mark Halperin says so. Merit be damned -- if Democrats liked the legislation and Republicans didn't, it's necessarily flawed.

In our reality, Obama did make "centrist compromises," and liberals in the Democratic Party didn't like it. Obama did the opposite of Bush's style of governing -- he engaged the congressional minority, listened to their ideas, and weakened his own bill to garner a larger majority. House Republicans insisted on a worse bill, Democrats wouldn't give them one, so the GOP voted against it. Halperin inexplicably believes that's Obama's fault.

I'm trying to wrap my head around Halperin's logic here. By his reasoning, the only appropriate thing for Obama to do was let Republicans -- who failed at governing, and who've been rejected by voters -- shape the bill, addressing the crisis they helped create. If the far-right House GOP caucus was unsatisfied, it was Obama's responsibility to make them happy. Why? Because Mark Halperin says so.



Like I said, just ignore the losers and let them play amongst themselves. The American public will vote more of them out, in droves, in 2010.

"There Will Be Four People In My Old Office" Cries Rove. Oh My!

This is just too sweet to pass up! Rove believes Obama is on the road to failure in the White House because, get this, he has too many people working in the actual White House!

It is rumored that as many as 160 people will be in the West Wing under Mr. Obama. Under President George W. Bush there were about 60. My old, modest-seized office has been carved into four cubicles. This reduces the space for ad hoc meetings in personal offices, where so much West Wing work once took place.

The space crunch comes because Mr. Obama has moved several positions that once had offices in the EEOB into the West Wing. These include public liaison, intergovernmental affairs and political affairs. This reflects the importance he places on these offices' marketing efforts.

Space is also short because the ranks of senior staff have been increased. There is a chief of staff, of course, but also two deputy chiefs, and three senior advisers. Some senior aides now have chiefs of staff of their own. That is new.

All of this matters because management structure affects decision-making and determines the range and quality of voices the president hears. That impacts policy outcomes.

Mr. Obama's changes could overload Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. As power that was once diffused to cabinet officers is centralized in the White House, Mr. Emanuel will have to make more decisions and referee more turf wars than his predecessors. This will test his skills and likely inject chaos into the policy process as he prioritizes the decisions he can reasonably make.

You have to read the rest of the "opinion" piece by Rove. It's a scream. This is the man allegedly credited with giving the power to the Bush Administration, now complaining that "ad hoc" meetings will be compromised. Ha ha. Don't you mean "secret" meetings with oil lobbyists and the like, Mr. Turd Blossom?

And they still pay men like him to write this bullshit, and tout it on television.

The American people said "hell, no" in 2006, and a bigger "HELL NO" in 2008. Keep on keeping on you Republicans. You just may drive your party into extinction, which would, as far as I am concerned, not be a bad idea in this day and age.

Monday, January 26, 2009

"Don't Think I Don't Think About It"

When I first saw this video, I couldn't figure out where I knew this guy from. And, being black and singing and being played on country radio/television, well, that pissed me off more that I couldn't remember!

HOOTIE!



Hootie & The Blowfish - Let Her Cry ... I would YouTube it, but apparently it's "blocked" by the YouTube police

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Create Some Income

Schooling the pundits .. Man, I really like Paul Krugman. He doesn't take no shit from nobody.



Obama ... deal with this. Fuck the tax credit. Spend on the infrastructure. Stop listening to anyone that has an "R" next to his name, as political identification.

Evidence? What Evidence? Files, Files, Who Has The Files?

I am very dismayed over what I am reading of late concerning the lack of files on the Gitmo detainees.

As any practicing attorney knows, whether the work is civil, criminal or transactional, there are files. Files are necessary, and indeed, crucial. Files can be stored on computers, can be hard copies bound in legal folders, or stored on disks or flash drives. And physical evidence is generally stored in boxes, bags or other containers, and tagged and logged.

The Bush Administration has been housing approximately 245 human beings at Gitmo, claiming the "evidence" is clear and convincing that these human beings are a threat to society as a whole, for the entire planet, and that in the end, the American Government will prove their guilt and justify their detention.

Um ... maybe not. Per Hilzoy over at The Washington Monthly:

Imagine my surprise, then, when I found the following, on p. 3 note: OMC-P is "Office of Military Commissions -- Prosecutions"; CITF is "Criminal Investigative Task Force"):

"7. It is important to understand that the "case files" compiled at OMC-P or developed by CITF are nothing like the investigation and case files assembled by civilian police agencies and prosecution offices, which typically follow a standardized format, include initial reports of investigation, subsequent reports compiled by investigators, and the like. Similarly, neither OMC-P nor CITF maintained any central repository for case files, any method for cataloguing and storing physical evidence, or any other system for assembling a potential case into a readily intelligible format that is the sine qua non of a successful prosecution. While no experienced prosecutor, much less one who had performed his or her duties in the fog of war, would expect that potential war crimes would be presented, at least initially, in "tidy little packages," at the time I inherited the Jawad case, Mr. Jawad had been in U.S. custody for approximately five years. It seemed reasonable to expect at the very least that after such a lengthy period of time, all available evidence would have been collected, catalogued, systemized, and evaluated thoroughly -- particularly since the suspect had been imprisoned throughout the entire time the case should have been undergoing preparation.

8. Instead, to the shock of my professional sensibilities, I discovered that the evidence, such as it was, remained scattered throughout an incomprehensible labyrinth of databases primarily under the control of CITF, or strewn throughout the prosecution offices in desk drawers, bookcases packed with vaguely-labeled plastic containers, or even simply piled on the tops of desks vacated by prosecutors who had departed the Commissions for other assignments. I further discovered that most physical evidence that had been collected had either disappeared or had been stored in locations that no one with any tenure at, or institutional knowledge of, the Commissions could identify with any degree of specificity or certainty. The state of disarray was so extensive that I later learned, as described below, that crucial physical evidence and other documents relevant to both the prosecution and the defense had been tossed into a locker located at Guantanamo and promptly forgotten. Although it took me a number of months -- so extensive was the lack of any discernable organization, and so difficult was it for me to accept that the US military could have failed so miserably in six years of effort -- I began to entertain my first, developing doubts about the propriety of attempting to prosecute Mr. Jawad without any assurance that through the exercise of due diligence I could collect and organize the evidence in a manner that would meet our common professional obligations."
You cannot prosecute without evidence, and you cannot have evidence without files. It is patently obvious why the Bush Administration dragged their collective feet these past eight years and refused to prosecute the Gitmo detainees. There is no evidence.

It's Not A Republican Country, Despite Republican Claims To The Contrary

Bush wasn't just a Republican president, he was the Republican president. Bush was the guy who took everything on the GOP platform seriously. He went to bat for every idea that ever got the official elephant nuts seal of approval. The record that resulted isn't just a measure of Bush's incompetence, it's a measure of just how bad Republican ideas are in practice.

Republican insistence that the market could be self regulating wrecked the market... as it has every time it's been tried.

Republican insistence that rewarding folks who already had loads of cash was the best way to spark the economy failed to make things better for the average American and widened the gap between rich and poor... as it has every time it's been tried.

Republican insistence that giving the oil companies billions would result in a burst of domestic production failed... as it has every time it's been tried.

Republican insistence that the market alone would position us for our energy future left us more vulnerable to those who control overseas oil resources... as it has every time it's been tried.

Of course, there are plenty of other numbers to track. Illegal signing statements. Violations of the Constitution. Americans and non-Americans killed in an unnecessary war.

Still, you have to give the Bush administration at least one "A" on the grade card. The guy was great at recess.


A very in-depth analysis by Devilstower over at DailyKos. A must read concerning the very real problem with the Republican party's standard platform. It has never worked and will never work. Each time in history when the American people turned over the reins to the Republican party, this country has suffered in every conceivable manner.

The past eight years under the Bush Administration has pretty much gutted this country, emotionally, financially and spiritually. The huge numbers that voted in Democrats in all areas of government across this country is proof positive that, at least as far as Americans are concerned, they are done with Republican ideas. Been there, done that.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Once In A While, Couldn't The AP Actually Research A Story?

This is what happens when the right-wing controlled media regurgitates what the stupid Republican congresscritters tell them. The only problem, of course, is the stupidity of the Republicans who, in their rush to find anything they can use to discredit anything with an Obama (or any other Democrat, for that matter) stamp on it, fail to actually read documents, or more likely, fail to actually understand what it is they are reading! And, of course, if you give it to the definitely right-wing run AP, which couldn't find a truth if God gave it to them directly, you end up with this kind of crap:

Reports of a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, showing that the vast majority of the money in the stimulus package won't be spent until after 2010, have Democrats on the defensive and the GOP calling for a pullback in wasteful spending.

Funny thing is, there is no such report.

"We did not issue any report, any analysis or any study," a CBO aide told the Huffington Post.

As Steven Benen points out:

Oops.

It appears that the preliminary, incomplete numbers put together by the CBO were distributed to a small handful of lawmakers in both parties earlier in the week. Someone(Republican congressional offices) then passed the misleading data onto the AP, which predictably ran with the incomplete numbers, telling the public that it "will take years before an infrastructure spending program proposed by President-elect Barack Obama will boost the economy."

Other major media outlets quickly followed, and voila, Republicans had a talking point: "Boehner and other Republican aides roamed the Capitol press galleries, flogging the CBO numbers."

Obviously, congressional Republicans were less concerned about reality than undermining an economic rescue package. But as DDay noted, let's not brush past media culpability: "It's pretty clear that the media has no ability to or interest in understanding this stuff, because then they wouldn't have their precious 'conflict.' So they regurgitate whatever some GOP staffer feeds them, just to spice things up."

OMB Director Peter Orszag, who used to head the CBO, has already responded to the bogus reports and talking points. Republicans and reporters might want to check it out.

It gets tiring having mainstream media (and AP, in particular) disseminate unresearched, unchecked, and unconfirmed information as fact, especially in their haste to bash whatever appears to have a liberal bent to it.

And they wonder why print circulation keeps diminishing, and television ratings are scant?

Friday, January 23, 2009

Hold The Line On Infrastructure

And now, more on that stimulus package that Obama ran on, which he started whittling down to nearly 40% of the "stimulus" being tax cuts (cough, cough):

...my advice would be to offer the best possible plan that would get the votes needed necessary to pass instead of some fantasy of an 80-vote threshold, banking off the public goodwill with both the President and the concept of funding infrastructure, which even Frank Luntz recognizes the public is demanding and would pay higher taxes for.

Obama, read the writing on the wall, damn it. Americans want a stimulus infrastructure plan, not a "tax cut to the wealthy, again" plan. Have you not paid attention to the last eight years, dude?

Hold strong. Remember ... you "won."

Obama Calls Out Limbaugh Listeners (Tee Hee)

WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

Well, finally, a president willing to state the obvious.

Limbaugh: "I Hope Obama Fails."
So I’m thinking of replying to the guy, “Okay, I’ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.” (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here’s the point. Everybody thinks it’s outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, “Oh, you can’t do that.” Why not? Why is it any different, what’s new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what’s gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don’t care what the Drive-By story is. I would be honored if the Drive-By Media headlined me all day long: “Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.” Somebody’s gotta say it.

Um, some asshole has to say it, and as usual, it's Limbaugh! What a putz.

Gordon Turner For Mayor Of Los Angeles

Back to local politics -- in Los Angeles.

I plan to be working on helping Gordon Turner's campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles. His blog is Gordon Turner For Mayor Of Los Angeles and his website is Gordon Turner For Mayor Of Los Angeles 2009.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Finally, A President Who Can Communicate -- In Any Language!

"This is America. When ordering speak in English," proclaims the sign at Geno's Steaks. Owner Joe Vento put up in the window of his shop six months ago. (6/9/06)

Fast forward to 1/23/09:

ABC News' Kirit Radia Reports: As President Obama worked the rope-line at the State Department Thursday, a State Department staffer named Charles Silver, knowing the President once lived in Indonesia, shouted out, "good afternoon" in the local language.

Obama responded back in what Silver later told ABC News was "very good" Bahasa Indonesian. The two then chatted briefly about the neighborhood Obama once lived in.


We are a nation of immigrants, for goodness sake! Of course, speaking English is preferred, but to deride those that don't or can't, or to attempt to make laws that mandate one only speak English, belies the fact that not everyone in the world speaks English, let alone everyone in the United States!

High five to Obama for being the better person.

UPDATE: Nashville Voters Reject a Proposal for English-Only

Nashville voters have rejected a proposal to make English the city’s official language and to prevent government workers from communicating in other languages.

Obama To Republicans: "I Won"

The top congressional leaders from both parties gathered at the White House for a working discussion over the shape and size of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. The meeting was designed to promote bipartisanship.

But Obama showed that in an ideological debate, he’s not averse to using a jab.

Challenged by one Republican senator over the contents of the package, the new president, according to participants, replied: “I won.”
That made me laugh. Time to pour a cocktail!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

East Coast Beaters??????

Ok, so many of you already know I'm a Beater Buddy. Had no idea Billy created an "East Coast Beaters" band, with just totally different performers.

Now, I know (having been raised in music) that it's the quality of the musicians that makes the band (not going to address song, lyrics, etc.), but this was the song the Beaters highlighted Jerry Peterson playing double sax, damn it!


Jerry plays double sax on this song .. but where is Jerry? Ricky's not on lead, and who the hell are on the horns? East Coast Beaters? Oh My God!



Damn, if Billy's new YouTube stuff and his East Coast Beaters are the new shit, no wonder I haven't seen him around lately at Ralph's market.

Plus, I prefer the old band.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Not So Pissed At Life Since Yesterday

This blogger over at AMERICAblog expresses what I have felt for the past eight years.

One thing I've realized is that I'm not angry anymore. I feel like I was just pissed for the past eight years -- and it seemed like a really, really long eight years. But, I'm not now.

Yesterday, for the first time in years, I didn't wake up pissed at our American government.

The Many Colors Of The New "White" House

For well over two centuries, the United States has been vastly more diverse than its ruling families. Now the Obama family has flipped that around, with a Technicolor cast that looks almost nothing like their overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly Protestant predecessors in the role. The family that produced Barack and Michelle Obama is black and white and Asian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish. They speak English; Indonesian; French; Cantonese; German; Hebrew; African languages including Swahili, Luo and Igbo; and even a few phrases of Gullah, the Creole dialect of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Very few are wealthy, and some — like Sarah Obama, the stepgrandmother who only recently got electricity and running water in her metal-roofed shack — are quite poor.


A refreshing change, don't you think?

H/T to Crooks & Liars

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

At Last, At Last -- No More Bush, I Give You The 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama

I have chills going down my spine watching Barrack Hussein Obama take the oath as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Glory Hallelujah, A New Day Has Begun!

Bye bye Cheney. Bye bye Bush.

What is that I am feeling? Oh, it's a breath of fresh air!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

We Shall Be Free - Well, I Guess Not Since HBO Claims To Own The Pre-Inaugural Event

Well, I wasn't going to watch the first of the several televised inaugural events, but after the football game, it was apparent that HBO was going to rebroadcast it without filters to those that don't subscribe to HBO, so I decided to give it a view. To accentuate the "musical" part of the "show," I switched on my two big 24" old school speakers I have had affixed to my television since, what, the 1980's (laughs).

Now I find out that HBO has taken down all the YouTubes of the event, claiming copyright infringement. So, I have removed all of the work I put into this post that went up last night. Fuck HBO.

Freedom? I think not. That makes it a no brainer that I am not watching the rest of the festivities on HBO. I sure hope the ratings suck for HBO's showing.

See AMERICAblog for their take on it.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Friday's Random Top Ten

OK, so it is really Saturday morning (but hey, if you are clubbing, you still count it as Friday).


Friday's Random Top Ten, You Tube Style.

10. Hold The Line: Toto



9. Katrina and The Waves - Walking On Sunshine



8. Nat Cole Trio - Route 66 (Loved that it was used in the Disney annimated film "Cars," [the song, not this version]).



7. Kelly Osbourne - Shut Up



6. Junior Brow & The Beach Boys - 409



5. Bruddah Iz - Hawai'i Aloha



4. Anti-Flag - Die For Your Government



3. Chingon - Malaguena Salerosa (for those "Kill Bill" fanatics!) Mariachi with a rock slant.



2. Sugarland - All I Want To Do (CMA Award Show) Oh, we already know I have a thing for the guitar player ... LOL.



1. Irene Cara - Hot Lunch

Friday, January 16, 2009

Billy Vera, Part Two, Buckaroo Banzai Version

That's not Jerry in the wig on the sax, but that is Billy in the black suit and beret.



Billy is Pinky, with the beret.



For whatever, most of the band wasn't able to do the shoot.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

It's A Billy And The Beaters Night!



I have a series of photographs (11" x 17") that I had taken at a country nightclub in North Hollywood the night that Billy's song went Number One on the Billboard charts. I often get asked about them, especially since my family is the music business ... people often wonder if we are related (laughing). NOT.

I was a regular "beater buddy" back in the day. The first time I ever saw the band was when I (and a male friend) saw them at the Roxy opening up for one of the versions of Tower of Power, and we were blown away. I followed the band for a number of years (eventually being a regular on the "guest list). Yeah, a lot of rumours surrounded me, and no, I did not sleep with the band! I slept with some roadies and the sound engineer (Brad), but steered clear of the boys in the band.

Well, except for my annual romp with Ricky on my birthday (tee hee).

I have seen a few YouTubes of them in recent years. And, of course, those of us that know Billy's voice, hear him almost on a daily basis on television, as he is the consumate voice over master (AM/PM, Burger King, Applebees, etc.), not to mention theme songs (King of Queens, for one). Of course, he also acted ... my favorite -- The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai! (Check out that cast -- Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd!)

It's funny, I see Billy at my local Ralphs grocery store from time to time, but I steer clear ... one of these day's I'll put my groceries next to his (ha ha ha).

It's interesting to see the band still partially together. Lon Price, Ron, and Jerry Peterson (when he played the double sax ... shit!), Ricky on lead guitar.



If memory serves me right, they generally opened up their set with this song.



One of the roadies put together for me a cassette of all of Billy's 45 singles he put out in his career. I still have that. Back in the day, he also did a radio show on KCRW about doo wop. I probably have about 100 cassettes of his shows and the songs he played. He has a vast collection of records, I can tell you that.



They were not named the best bar band in Los Angeles for nothing!
One of my favorites ... the lyrics killed me!



And I will end this Billy and the Beaters tribute with a trademark song.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

RIP Ricardo

Who can forget his memorable commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba and it's "fine Corinthian leather?"

Of course, most Trekkies will adore him for his portrayal of Kahn.

But, probably his stardom hit its stride with Fantasy Island and his portrayal of Mr. Roarke.

He was, however, a recurring "segment" on Saturday Night Live, for those of us old enough to have seen them.

Season 2, Episode 22: Shelley Duvall/Joan Armatrading

Original Air Date—14 May 1977The host for the episode is Shelley Duvall, and the musical guest is Joan Armatrading. The skits for this episode are as follows: The opening act is interrupted by an announcement that NBC wants to get their money's worth out of the recent Bobick-Norton fight by replaying it at the start of every show. The women of the show sing as the Video Vixens. A bank robber is upset that his disguise isn't as good as those of the other members of his gang. Three women are joined in a restaurant by three men arguing over which one is Ricardo Montalban. During the Weekend Update, Jane Curtain reports on David Frost's presidential interviews, Patty Hearst's personal life and Roy Roger's funeral plans, while boxer Duane Bobick makes a plea for better civil rights so blacks will stop beating up white people, and Emily Litella fails to show up for her commentary. Elvis tries his hand at Shakespeare. Baba Wawa interviews Richard Burton on the subject of Elizabeth
Taylor. Leonard Plith-Garnell reviews bad ballet. Members of the Moonies start turning violent. Joan Armatrading performs "Love & Affection" and "Down to Zero".



I will personally miss you, Mr. Montalban.

Funeral For A Friend - Love Lies Bleeding

This is the closest I could find to a live version of his recorded version of Funeral for A Friend. Inspired by DJ Rix's post tonight.
One of my all time faves of Sir Elton John.

"Oh No He Di’in’t!"

From the Poorman, posted by curv3ball, regarding Ehud Olmert's gloating over having stated: “I said -- Get me President Bush on the phone. They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn’t care: I need to talk to him now. He got off the podium and spoke to me.” Thereafter, Olmert claims to have told Bush that the U.S. could not vote for the resolution by the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in the three-week-old conflict in the Gaza Strip and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which order Bush dutifully followed:

Actually, it reveals the depths of our mutually destructive and utterly dysfunctional relationship with Israel - the land whose government is beyond reproach. Such that it’s leaders can yank a chain and pull our President off the podium, instruct him to publicly humiliate his Secretary of State by pulling the rug out from under her and then, get this, brag about it openly days later. Without consequences.

Without consequences.

Monday, January 12, 2009

It's The End Of The World, As We Know It

This has got to be the most asinine thing I have read in years.


I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think journalists should be anywhere allowed war. I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. You know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you’d go to the theater and you’d see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for’em. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to downer–and down soldiers. You know, American soldiers or Israeli soldiers.

I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, “Well look at this atrocity,” well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it.

From Joe, the Plumber, now Foreign War Correspondent.

As long as there are people like him that populate this world, it's a safe bet that humans are destined for extinction ... and probably in the not too distant future.

(Courtesy of Think Progress).

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Republicans Concerned With Deficit Spending?

When Bush took office in 2001, the government had a projected $5.6 trillion, 10-year surplus, which would translate into at least $560 billion per year. By the end of 2002, the government had a deficit of $158 billion. This, in just about one year of being in office. At the end of his term in office, Bush leaves with a record $1.2 trillion budget deficit, most of it based on needless tax cuts for the rich, and starting two wars, one with maybe a real purpose, one completely for no reason.

Even as the last months are playing out, the Bush government came up with a $700 billion giveaway to more rich people, bailing out Wall Street, banks, lending institutions and the like, with absolutely no oversight (despite the pretend show of congress "mandating" oversight, but getting none). Let's try to keep into perspective the fact that when the banks that received some of this money were asked to identify how it was used, they declined to give any information. Taking taxpayer money, and refusing to account for it, all the while giving their CEO's large pay and other performance packages (despite said performance being of the kind that put this economy into the shitter in the first place) is just the tip of level of incompetence of the Bush Admnistration's financial policies.

Tax rebates don't help the economy. Tax cuts have not helped the economy. Giving out free taxpayer money to rich people/corporations has not helped the economy.

Obama was swept into office by a huge majority, and on a platform of change. Part of that change was to provide a stimulus that would affect the infrastructure of America. Now, all of a sudden, the party that's been in power for the past eight years, the party that put this country $1.2 trillion into debt with it's huge giveaways to corporate supporters and tax cuts for rich people, is pretending that they actually give a shit about the economy by being concerned about deficit spending! And what does Obama do? He caves.

On the heels of the Bush Administration's giveaway of $700 billion without any oversight, Obama's proposed stimulus package of $800 billion has now been whittled down to include almost 40% of it being more tax cuts!

Look, one does not have to be an economist to know that when taxes are cut, revenues to the government are also cut. We didn't get to the $1.2 trillion deficit by increasing taxes and stimulating the economy. We got there by a reckless president and his administration just throwing money away in every direction -- war profiteering by corporations with hands in government administration pockets, tax breaks for the wealthy, and just plain old bad management (like shipping over a boatload of cash to Iraq and then letting it simply "disappear" without a clue as to where it went).

The Republicans are the minority now, in the White House and in Congress. Why in the world would Obama seriously consider gutting his stimulus package by 40% in more giveaways by tax cuts? What change is that? What about his promise to America? Is Obama that stupid? I can't understand the motivation at all for him, and his advisers, to think that peppering his stimulus package with such stupid concessions to the minority party is going to be effective. When in the past eight years has any fucking tax cut benefited the general population of America? WHEN, damn it?

Not even in office, and Obama has already begun his backpeddling. By the looks of it, maybe taking it up the ass would be less painful. I need to burrow deep, hold onto my cash, and hope to God I make it through the next two years. I certainly have no faith that Obama is going to make a shred of difference to the economy of America.

Cross-posted at The Smirking Chimp, DailyKos and MyDD.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Clean Coal, My Ass

WASHINGTON — Federal regulations are needed to make sure that ash from coal-fired power plants is stored safely, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said on Thursday as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the spill of 1 billion gallons of toxic sludge in East Tennessee.

[snip]

According to the American Coal Ash Association's latest survey, in 2007, coal-fired plants generated 131 million tons of coal ash. The nation's hundreds of coal ash dumps contain millions of pounds of toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium, which can cause cancer or damage the nervous system and lungs and other organs if people ingest them. The EPA has left regulation up to the states, but it's been debating whether to set national standards.

"For nearly three decades, EPA has been looking the issue of how to regulate combustion waste," Boxer said. "The federal government has the power to regulate these wastes, and inaction has allowed this enormous volume of toxic material to go largely uregulated."

Let's hope that ends the dialogue over the myth of "clean coal."

Thank Goodness For The Blogs

From David Neiwert writing for Crooks and Liars:

I left newsroom work in large part because people like Ziegler and his movement-conservative counterparts have no tolerance for any point of view other than their own -- and holding such views, or moreover even merely being properly skeptical of them, is evidence of a "liberal bias." By the late '90s I realized the reflexive fear of being accused of being "librul media" by these mau-mau masters was preventing me from reporting thoroughly, accurately, or honestly. Good thing blogging came along.

Although I was/am not a journalist, I stopped watching Mass Media television (and reading print newspapers) for the same reason. It has cracked me up for years that the right wingers continually claim "media" is "liberal," which belies the fact that the major corporate and individual owners of most of mass media are -- right wing nutjobs! And these owners have over the past 15 years, slowly but surely, tightened the noose around the neck of mainstream media's ability to shed light on real and important topics and issues. Instead, mass media has turned into a circus of performers who shout, scream and berate people, who fail to report the "news" or when they do attempt to do so, they lie. Or my favorite, taking a truth and pairing it with an untruth, and masquerading it as "just telling both sides, folks."

Yup, thank goodness for the blogs.

Who Can Afford COBRA When You Don't Have A Job, Anyway?

The cost of buying health insurance for unemployed Americans who try to purchase coverage through a former employer consumes 30 percent to 84 percent of standard unemployment benefits, according to a report released yesterday.

As Chris in Paris says:
Instead of cash handouts and yet another round of business tax deductions, solving problems like this ought to be considered first. It would be nice to think that our next President who ran on a campaign of change would actually target change instead of the same old, same old. Is that really asking for too much?


It is not asking for too much, but like I, and many of the netroots are beginning to see, Obama is not going to be able to deliver on his promise of "change." Unless, of course, you count his "changing" his original plans to suit the MINORITY party's demands -- which it appears he is willing to do.

Obama, word up, dude. The economy is tanking. We don't need more tax cuts for the wealthy. We don't need $19 more per paycheck either. We need REAL STIMULUS in the REAL ECONOMY, not bailouts, not handouts, not free money. Fix it, damn it.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

A Snub Of Dean By Obama? Pretty Lame, If You Ask Me

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama appeared Thursday at Democratic Party headquarters with his hand-picked incoming chairman, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, but his predecessor, outgoing chief Howard Dean, was nowhere in sight.

[snip]

Democrats with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the Obama team, say Dean won't attend the event at the request of Obama advisers.

The more I read about Obama and how he is treating his contemporaries in the Democratic party, the more I am pretty sure he's got his gun squarely pointed at his foot, cocked and ready to shoot. If it wasn't for Dean's 50 state policies that bucked the general Democratic prism, Obama wouldn't have had the access to the netroots or been able to penetrate as many red states as he did. He's sounding just as politically petty as Bush is.

Sad to say, but it looks like all Americans did was elect a black president. I doubt they elected anyone that would really be able to change the way this country is headed ... just give good speeches. That doesn't mean, by the way, that the alternative, McCain, would have, or could have, fared better. I believe McCain was and is completely out of touch with reality. I am just disappointed, still as much as I was the day Obama voted for FISA. Obviously better than Bush and the past 8 years, but certainly not anyone that is going to rock the boat in any fashion, politically speaking.

Too bad. Not even sworn in, and his proposed policies are already sounding like Bush lite.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Porn Hard On For Bailout Money!

And on to the lighter side of bailout requests:

Two porn moguls including Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt are seeking a five-billion-dollar bailout from Washington, arguing that the limp US economy has thrown cold water on the adult entertainment industry.

Flynt and "Girls Gone Wild" video series creator Joe Francis asked the newly convened 111th Congress "to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America" in a bailout move similar to the one set aside for US auto manufacturers.

"Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses, (and) we feel we deserve the same consideration," Francis said in a statement.

"In difficult economic times, Americans turn to entertainment for relief. More and more, the kind of entertainment they turn to is adult entertainment."

The pair were quick to admit that "the 13-billion-dollar industry is in no fear of collapse, but why take chances?"

Free round of tequila shots to us porn fans (ha ha ha)!

One Hell Of A Brave Woman Confronting Israeli Soldier



I saw this video this morning on AMERICAblog, and have thought about it all day long. I cannot believe the brave and courageous action of the obviously American girl confronting the Israeli soldiers.

The video is plenty clear that the "enemy" these soldiers are shooting at are not "terrorists" or a threat in any fashion to the soldiers, and yet, the excuse I keep hearing from the sympathizers to this massive imbalance of destruction is that "hey, those kids could have a bomb and blow up the soldiers." Viewing this ONE particular scene, are there any doubts that the kids throwing rocks at the soldiers were doing nothing but throwing fucking rocks? And the response is to SHOOT AT THEM, WITH REAL BULLETS? It's insane. What, 7 or so Israelis killed by the stupid Hamas shellings, and 700 or more Palestinians dead, over half of them CIVILIANS based on the Israelis' response?

This is just in the eyes of any one's God?

More Leaks On The Watering Down Of The Stimulus Package, Or How 1 Million Jobs Lost In November And December Is Just An Illusion

Although it appears that the 550,000 jobs lost in November has been updated to a mere 473,000, the report for December comes in at 693,000 private sector jobs lost. Over a million people in America lost their jobs during the months of November and December 2008. What the fuck is that all about?

Where the hell are the priorities of this government? Why are we handing out free taxpayer money to banks and insurance companies and bailing out billionaires? Why is Obama balking on his stimulus package so that it is mutating into another giant giveaway to rich people and slim pickings to the majority of Americans that voted the son of a bitch into office? Please do remember that I did not vote for him because he represented change ... I didn't buy that line in any fashion. As my ex friend Tony has challenged me, my vote was apparently racist because I simply voted for Obama as he was the first viable black candidate for the office. I had my doubts about him based on his record his first two years in the Senate, and it was topped off with his stupid collusion (with other Democrats and the Republican party) and vote for FISA.

I am trying to be restrained in my views until the man actually takes office, but I just can't help but continue to have my doubts based on what I am reading on a daily basis about his changing positions on the AMERICANS' stimulus package, and his caving in to the demands of a minority party that has absolutely zero power at this point in time -- all in the alleged name of being bipartisan. Fuck that, damn it. You cannot be bipartisan with a party of people that despise everything you stand for, and lie with impunity about anything and everything.

From TPM:

But Obama seems to be telegraphing that to a significant degree the fundamental structure of the legislation is being built around accommodating the concerns of Republicans -- members of a political party that are about as unpopular and weak as you can get at the moment. And that sounds a lot like he's negotiating with himself, something that will embolden opposition and invite Republicans to up the ante even further.

If Bush could claim a mandate with his stinking stingy, barely majority vote that he claims got him in office, then Obama, who creamed McCain, and the Republican machine, should declare open season on the Republicans, just for the hell of it!

If he cannot see the set up to fail that he is being so obviously prepped for, then he deserves the bitterness that will eventually be directed in his way by the very people that elected him as president.

Oh Great, Telecoms Get Immunity From Prosecution, But DOJ Foaming At Mouth To Prosecute The Whistleblower!

As most of my readers know, the passing of the FISA bill and the protection -- retroactive immunity from prosecution -- of the telecommunication companies that allowed the Bush Administration to not only spy on ordinary Americans, but amass a portfolio of everything from emails, to instant messages to telephonic communication, pisses me off to no end. It was, and still is, the reason I do not generally get all gaga over Obama, because he supported that bill, as did many Democrats.

Now, it appears, that the Bush Administration's Department of Justice wants to prosecute to the fullest, the whistle blower of the government's spying, and they are foaming at the mouth to prosecute in some fashion, the New York Times for publishing the information.

Glenn Greenwald has a pretty snarky piece up about this double standard, which everyone should read, in its entirety.

One of the most inane claims of the last eight years -- and that's obviously saying something -- was the hysterical accusation that national security had been harmed, that our "intelligence capabilities" had been revealed to The Terrorists, all because The New York Times informed the country that the President was eavesdropping without the warrants required by law rather than with them.

I can already feel the tears coming from the eyes of the Statue of Liberty. And, I am afraid, America will continue to get lower in the gutter for a long while before sanity finally takes hold and rights this teetering country.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Stimuls Package? What Stimulus Package? We Don't Need No Stinking Stimulus Package! Tax Breaks, That's What We Need!

Obama is already sliding down that slippery slope known as appeasing the Republicans. Now it's with the stimulus package that has morphed into including "tax breaks."

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama plans to include about $300 billion in tax cuts for workers and businesses in his economic recovery program, advisers said Sunday, as his team seeks to win over Congressional skeptics worried that he was too focused on government spending.

The legislation Mr. Obama is developing with Congressional Democrats will devote about 40 percent of the cost to tax cuts, including his centerpiece campaign promise to provide credits up to $500 for most workers, costing roughly $150 billion. The package will also include more than $100 billion in tax incentives for businesses to create jobs and invest in equipment or factories.

The overall economic package, of $675 billion to $775 billion, is taking shape as Mr. Obama arrived in Washington and planned to begin trying to build support in Congress and among the broader public for his approach to stimulating the economy. Mr. Obama, who flew to the capital on Sunday to join his family in a hotel suite while awaiting his inauguration, planned to meet with Congressional leaders on Monday and deliver a speech on Thursday laying the ground for his emerging economic program.


According to Paul Krugman -- Good Luck!

News reports say that Democrats hope to pass an economic plan with broad bipartisan support. Good luck with that.

In reality, the political posturing has already started, with Republican leaders setting up roadblocks to stimulus legislation while posing as the champions of careful Congressional deliberation — which is pretty rich considering their party’s behavior over the past eight years.

More broadly, after decades of declaring that government is the problem, not the solution, not to mention reviling both Keynesian economics and the New Deal, most Republicans aren’t going to accept the need for a big-spending, F.D.R.-type solution to the economic crisis.

The biggest problem facing the Obama plan, however, is likely to be the demand of many politicians for proof that the benefits of the proposed public spending justify its costs — a burden of proof never imposed on proposals for tax cuts.

[snip]

Here’s my nightmare scenario: It takes Congress months to pass a stimulus plan, and the legislation that actually emerges is too cautious. As a result, the economy plunges for most of 2009, and when the plan finally starts to kick in, it’s only enough to slow the descent, not stop it. Meanwhile, deflation is setting in, while businesses and consumers start to base their spending plans on the expectation of a permanently depressed economy — well, you can see where this is going.

So this is our moment of truth. Will we in fact do what’s necessary to prevent Great Depression II?

Finally, Kevin Drum weighs in with this:

I've been getting the same sense recently: Obama's team is so focused on getting a big bipartisan majority for their stimulus legislation that they're negotiating their goals down even before they actually start negotiating. I'm reluctant to critique Obama's political instincts, since they've proven shrewd so often in the past, but I gotta say: this isn't going to work. Obviously Obama needs a modest level of Republican support just to get the bill passed, but he doesn't need 80 votes, and straining to get there will just produce a watered-down plan without getting anything in return.

The American public really doesn't know or care if this bill passes by one vote or thirty votes. So why waste time on this? It's just a gold-embossed invitation for Republicans to obstruct and posture endlessly, something they hardly need any encouragement for.

As I have already posted earlier, I doubt Obama can change the downward spiral direction of America, at least not in his first two years.

H/T to Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly.

Patrick Fitzgerald A Failure? By Whose Standards, May I Ask?

Once again, the "media" is carrying the Republican water buckets, this time as it relates to Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney who successfully prosecuted Libby, and is now in charge of the Blagojevich case.

First it was that shrill Malkin chick (wherever in the world did this bitch get the idea she actually has a brain?) with her comments that the Democrats "will turn on a dime" if Fitzgerald continues with the prosecution of Blagojevich. Now it's Brit Hume and Joe Scarborough with their lame comments that Fitzgerald brings cases with “a lot of smoke” but “no fire,” claiming Fitzgerald is "going to go 0 for 2 here in national investigations.”

As Think Progress has noted:

To say Fitzgerald might go “0 for 2″ in national investigations not only ignores the fact that he won a conviction of a Bush aide in the Plame case but, more importantly, completely ignores Fitzgerald’s successful prosecution of the terrorists — including “the blind Shiek” Omar Abdul Rahman — who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. During the trial, Fitzgerald provided a passionate and forceful voice against what he called “a war of urban terrorism,” years before “the War on Terror” began:

– “Terrorism is real. It is here. It is in this courtroom,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told the jury. [AP, 10/2/95]

– Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald concluded more than two days of the Government’s closing argument by telling the jurors, “The defendants in this room conspired to steal from Americans their freedom from fear.” [NY Times, 9/8/95]


Fitzgerald also indicted Osama bin Laden for terrorism years before he was on the national radar, after the 9/11 attacks. In addition, he secured the fraud conviction of Conrad Black, who had ties to the Bush White House. After successfully prosecuting terrorists, mobsters, governors, and White House officials, Fitzgerald is hardly in danger of going “0 for 2.”


First the complaints from the Republicans was that Fitzgerald was a zealot in prosecuting Republicans for their corruption and criminal activities, despite his record of prosecuting more Democrats than Republicans. Now they are complaining about his prosecution of Blagojevich! It's just like the dog chasing his tail -- circular logic, that only shows the pundit media to be the asses that they are.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Worst. President. EVER.

Courtesy of Think Progress:

In early 2006, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said of President Bush: “I really do believe this man will go down as the worst president this country has ever had.” This morning on Meet the Press, host David Gregory asked Reid whether he regrets making that statement. Reid refused to back down. “I think you just have to call things the way you see them,” he said. “I really do believe President Bush is the worst president we’ve ever had.”

White House response:

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino issued a terse response to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) suggestion that President Bush is the "worst president we've ever had."

"The Senate Majority Leader isn't really taken seriously," Perino said. Reid, on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, defended his past remarks that Bush was the worst president and the the Iraq war had been lost.

I tell you, it simply amazes me the way the Republican Party, or what's left of them, are clinging to some imaginary fairy wand that will somehow be waived over the entire world's head, and "poof," gone will be the idiocy that has been known as the Bush Administration, and in its place will be fond and pleasant memories of the Great G.W.!

Man, I need the drugs these people are on, seriously!

500 Worst Passwords

Whew! I've had my password(s) for years and years, and I am glad they did not make the Top 500 Worst Passwords! Not even close, thank goodness.

Don't Hold Your Breath Waiting For An Economic Stimulus Plan For America

I don't think it matters if the Senate were made up of 75% Democrats, they would still be unable to steer this country out of the recession, and keep a depression from hitting.

Lowering expectations for quick passage of an economic stimulus bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected setting "some false deadline" for delivering legislation to President Obama, in favor of a more deliberate approach that allows Congress to get the package right "the first time."

Congressional leaders had hoped to hand Obama a completed economic assistance package immediately after he is sworn in on Jan. 20, but that timing looks increasingly doubtful as the legislation grows in complexity and size. In separate interviews this morning, Reid (Nev.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the process could take another six weeks.


The Guvment was sure quick in handing out "stimulus," oh, I am sorry, "bailout" money to their rich friends in the financial industry and on Wall Street. But come up with a plan that will help AMERICA from completely unravelling financially? Now, that will take, what -- months and months, first for the Democrats to argue amongst themselves (because, after all, any assistance to AMERICA cannot be too liberal or progressive), and then battle the obstruction from the Republicans (because, after all, that is all they know how to do).

I will repeat myself -- I don't believe Obama is going to make any headway as a president, at least insofar as AMERICA and AMERICAN interests go, for probably half his presidency (two years).

I am hopeful, though, that on the foreign front, Obama will be able to make a dramatic turnaround, both in this country's reputation abroad, and in the ability of this country to right the wrongs of the past eight years.

Hunker down, folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride. And to you Democrats that think nothing has changed and are still operating from the same core principals of the past eight years, beware of 2010. 2006 was the first wave of the American people's statement to Congress. 2008 was the second wave, and boy, it was a doozie, including electing a black man as president. If you politicians don't pay attention, 2010 will wipe out all of the obstructionists, both Republicans and Democrats.

Gas Prices On The Rise, Again

I started tracking gasoline prices in my neighborhood in July, 2005, and put up my first post about the prices. Well, my first post was August 10, 2005, but for some reason, it is no longer on my blog. However, the post I put up on April 25, 2006, incorporates most of what I had in the missing post (perhaps I even moved it by mistake, who knows about Blogger, anyway). If you click on the tag for "gas prices," all of the posts I have on this subject will be readable at one time.

This past election, the price of gasoline started dropping, much as it had prior to the 2006 election (only to rise again, and surpass the drop, resulting in the all time high price of regular in Los Angeles area of $4.72). Understandably, I predicted the price would surge again after the 2008 election, but ... it didn't.

The economy really was in the shitcan, and the gasoline prices reflected that, dropping from the high of $4.72 in July 2008, to the low of $1.63 by November 2008! That's a whopping $3.09 drop in price over a four month period. I had not seen the price of gasoline this low since the beginning of the Bush term!

Nothing has really changed in the economy. It's not gotten better, in fact, it appears to be going further south, worldwide. And yet, yesterday, all the stations in the Los Angeles area that I saw had just raised their prices about 15 cents, with some stations back over the $2.00 mark for regular.

I guess the folks at Exxon Mobil, Shell, and the rest, are missing their $40 to $60 billion quarterly profits.

"Waiting For The Final Divorce Decree"

We all know by now that the AP writers are generally Bush Lickers, and this new piece on Bush is just more licking.

However, Digby's comments made me laugh so hard, I almost spit my coffee (and then almost choked!):

I've known plenty of people like him. He's America's mean ex- husband and the country can't wait to sign the final divorce decree.

As a family law practitioner, high five on that one, honey!

Thursday, January 01, 2009

DOJ To Prosecute Those That Use Torture - But Of Course, Not Americans!

As usual, Glenn Greenwald is spot on about the United States' double standard when it comes to torture, and the prosecution of those that order it and/or administer it.

There's something beautifully illustrative about this torture prosecution. Apparently, it's not just appropriate, but necessary and urgent, for American courts to be used to prosecute the leaders of small African nations who order torture exclusively in their own land. Doing that is necessary to uphold what the Bush DOJ calls "respect for and trust in authority, government and a rule of law."

But -- say Bush loyalists and our pliant political class in unison -- the one thing that we cannot tolerate is for American courts to be used to impose accountability on American leaders who authorized illegal torture. And, of course, the only thing worse than doing that would be to subject them to prosecution by another country or, creepier still, an international tribunal. That would be an intolerable infringement of our sovereignty, we say as we prosecute the son of Liberia's President for acts he undertook exclusively inside Liberia.


I'm sick and tired of the U.S. politicians saying we should "move forward" and disregard all of the illegal shit the Bush administration has done these past eight years. That simply does not happen in real life to real Americans. You lie, cheat, steal, torture, maim and kill, you get prosecuted to the max. Hell, in this country, if you take drugs, and god forbid, get caught buying and/or selling them, you really get prosecuted to the full extent of the law! But politicians (not to mention corporations) that lie, cheat, steal, torture, maim and kill, we as Americans are supposed to just overlook prosecuting such actions, because that's just "partisan" and water under the bridge.

I personally think Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld and others should be investigated, prosecuted and sent to jail for the raping and pillaging of the American nation, not to mention starting two wars, resulting in the needless deaths of countless Americans as well as the citizens of the countries in which we are practicing such wars.

Happy New Year - Gaza Death Toll Tops 400


Time for me to weigh in on Israel's war against the Palestinians in the Gaza strip.


I am clearly not a supporter of Israel's government leaders' claim of an inherent right to bomb the crap out of everyone and anyone (meaning Arabs) that sneeze in their direction, especially when you factor into the equation that Israel has nuclear bombs. It's been written up a lot that the Israeli citizens are not, by a majority, behind the actions of their government, and would prefer a peace with the Palestinians, and many are in favor of a combined state that accepts both groups. But since the hardliners (much like our Bushies) are in control, it's war, war, war, with anyone that talks about peace, and nothing short of annihilating the Palestinians is acceptable to the Israeli government.


The world does not support Israeli aggression, but because the only real ally of Israel is America (which also has nuclear weapons) most countries cannot do anything. But, sooner or later, Israel will be held accountable, most likely by the rest of the Arab world that surrounds it. After all, the fear of the United States is waning in the Middle East, and let's not forget that both Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons.


It disgusts me that the politics of Israel is no compromise with Palestine, and it's just kill, kill, steal land, kill, kill, steal land, etc.


Don't Look Now, But Our Congress Raised Their Pay 2.8% - How Are The Rest Of You Faring?

A new year starts, and while the rest of the world (not to mention the United States) reels from the economic downturn, our illustrious congress gets a 2.8% pay raise!

Today, Congress — which has an approval rating of about 20 percent, actually up a few percentage points from the summer — receives a 2.8 percent raise.

That translates to a $4,700 increase to the base congressional salary of $169,300 a year.

The raise will cost taxpayers $2.5 million next year.

And our congrescritters are claiming there is nothing they can do about it! This, from a bunch of people that block everything that is good and beneficial to average American citizens, but they can't do fuck about their own raise?

Hint -- how about not taking it? Yeah, you read that right. Just say NO, like your favorite president's wife used to say. No, no, no, no, no. Stop bellyaching about the bailouts and accountability and Detroit, and just say, in this time of economic crisis, it is unfathomable that you would accept a pay raise, that you neither deserve nor need. Let's vote against a raise in the minimum wage for Americans, but hey, there's nothing congress can do about their automatic 2.8% yearly raise!

And you wonder why the American citizens despise congress?