blog | Reviews index

blog | Reviews index

Grrr....
just the other day I was thinking about working on a musical multi-media adaptation of "The Trial".
Damn damn damn...
always a day late and a dollar short...

Suburban Guerrilla

Suburban Guerrilla:
"Many consumers have developed any number of tricks for reaching a sentient being. Mr. Weinstein and others have discovered a number of techniques for outwitting the automation to reach a human, especially when confronted with the labyrinthine menus that accompany most phone-based systems. "

I always try to tell HL&P that I've just made a payment of over $1,000,000. That gets me to a live person pretty quick.

First Draft

First Draft:
"There's a way to please us both, and that's to make abortion nonexistent. That's the one thing outlawing it will never do. It's the one thing a comprehensive plan to attack the causes of abortion can do. Honest to god sex education. Day care and housing subsidies. Available and effective contraception. Parenting classes and hotlines and resources for struggling newlyweds and single moms and dads and everybody who needs it."

When I interviewed at planned parenthood a while back of course they asked what I thought of abortion...
I said we live in a world where sometimes it's necessary, but I wish it didn't have to be...
when the interviewer asked me to clarify I explained that in a perfect world there would be no unwanted pregnancies.
people who did not want children would not get pregnant,
but we don't live in that world yet...
There are so many viable means of birth control now...
but the anti-abortion folks are the same ones preaching abstinence...which is great, as long as you don't like having sex...

Fw: About Saudi Arabia

----- Original Message -----
From: "Aptimus Confirmation"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 7:37 PM
Subject: About Saudi Arabia


>
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Does every nation have it's own propaganda list?
I can't wait to hear about issues that affect Saudi Arabia and its
relationship with the United States.
Man, the French oughta get themselves one of these internet things.
They'd be a lot more popular.

Burnt Orange Report

Burnt Orange Report:
"The bill by Democratic Rep. Harold Dutton would make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum $500 fine. That's the equivalent of a traffic ticket. "

bout damn time...
fight the real criminals thanks...
like the guys who stole my car
or maybe the guys who broke into my house...
if we can't outright STOP the war on drugs maybe we can dismantle it a little at a time...

NEWSARAMA - NEW JHONEN VASQUEZ IN MARCH FROM SLG

NEWSARAMA - NEW JHONEN VASQUEZ IN MARCH FROM SLG: " Critically-reviled master something-or-another Jhonen Vasquez has returned from his trip around the solar system and is once again plotting his evil little designs on the world of comics. And how better to set his nefarious plans in motion than with Fillerbunny, a suffering creature originally created to fill a single page and whose existence was mercilessly extended to fill two sixteen-page comics, each one drawn over the course of one day? That'll work, right? Oh, you doubt, but this time, my sweetlings, this time, it is Fillerbunny in My Worst Book Yet!, 24 pages of torment and horrible excretions, two of them in mind-blowing FULL COLOR. And Jhonen took more than one day to finish it! You will see Fillerbunny as you've never seen him before, quite possibly consistently drawn and with fine details that make him seem so real and make his pain all the more pitiful. 'Why?' you will ask. 'Sweet lord of corn, WHY?!'"


WHOOHOO! now that I'm employed again I'm looking forward to hitting bedrock a little more regularly...
definitely adding this to my list...
if yr not familiar with Vasquez check out "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac" or watch a few eps of "Invader Zim"...
demented twisted fun!

Motime Like the Present

Motime Like the Present:
"The 'superhero' stories that I'm interested in proceed from the exact opposite assumption--i.e. that there isn't any order except that which we impose upon the world. Moreover, our awareness of our own subjective role in this production of meaning short-circuits our ability to believe in anything as 'absolutely real'. "

I always knew there was a reason for NOT digging Campbell, Star Wars, etc...and I knew it wasn't just elitism...but this, well this really explains it...
We don't discover our place in the world.
We make it.
We struggle with right/wrong, good/evil, etc but we never really know where we stand. There is always room for doubt.

just another example of why you should be reading Motime...
bringing the big thoughts to the little books...
whoohoo!

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | What good friends left behind

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | What good friends left behind: "Today, Samar lives in constant fear for her life. She has two fearsome bodyguards with automatic weapons. One is at her office door, the other at her gate. She travels in a blacked-out van. 'For the past 23 years, I was not safe,' she told me, 'but I was never in hiding or travelling with gunmen, which I must do now... There is no more official law to stop women from going to school and work; there is no law about dress code. But the reality is that even under the Taliban there was not the pressure on women in the rural areas there is now.' "

so, there are a lot of things I could bring up that would point to our massive failure in Afghanistan...but this is the one I ran across today. We've really screwed up.
It's obvious to anyone who's paying attention. Afghanistan is not a "free" country. It is not a "democracy". It is hell, and maybe it was hell before, but now it's hell and our responsibility...

This Modern World

This Modern World: "Now I believe the Founding Fathers wanted religion in the public marketplace as a behavior deterrent because they knew they couldn't control the population, and they felt that a faith-based population would be more likely to behave. Very practical. "

Wow. So, Bill is saying the founding fathers didn't believe in religion themselves, but thought it would be good for social control and engineering...
well, duh! that's why us thinking folks are less than enamored with it...
If you want to make the "right" argument regarding the FF's and religion you SHOULD say that they believed in Christ the King and wanted a Christian nation because Jesus is the way the truth the light, etc...
saying, in effect, the elites push religion cause it makes you schlubs easier to control doesn't exactly make me wanna say, "Merry Christmas!"

Jesus' General

Jesus' General:
"But one boy sitting alone at the edge of campus Tuesday told a different story. The 13-year-old stared at his lap and nervously plucked the grass while he talked about the popular 'fundies' who regularly push him and his friends around.

'They're in your face, kind of rude about it, saying 'You're going to die, you're going to burn in hell,'' said the boy, dressed in all black. The Camera is withholding his name out of concern for his safety. "


I was gang saved once...
In a teen club.
I was at "Fast Times"
(the teen club on fairmont in Pasadena...
owned at least in part by Sherwood Cryer,
or at least he was having some
$$$ kicked up to him or something...
long story...ask me and I'll tell ya sometime...)
and found myself surrounded by five older boys with mullets.
They followed me to the bathroom and made me pray with them.
I felt threatened, and a little weird,
but went along with it thinking they would leave me alone.
It worked for the most part...
They tried to talk to me once or twice more during the night...
but mostly left me to my sinning.

Click opera

Click opera:
"Sterling introduces his concept of the spime: an archive of data about the space-time co-ordinates of objects. 'In the future there will be millions of small histories for billions of small objects.' This is the central metaphor of his way of looking at objects, and I think you could say that a spime (the narrative accumulated by technologies 1-6, as well as others that Sterling doesn't talk about, like cell phones, peer-to-peer and bluetooth) is like a novel; it's an inventory, a narrative of all the events which happen to an object, and it also produces the object."

See, it's just this kind of crazy talk that makes me yearn for grad school. Somehow when I'm fighting with HL&P for a few more days of electricity I can't find the proper amount of enthusiasm for these ideas. But really, it's quite brilliant...

Websnark.com

Websnark.com:
"You want to fuck around with the cultural mythology of the last sixty years? Go right ahead. But don't lie about it in the metacommentary."

Bingo...
I was along for the ride...
Enjoyed parts of it,
but man,
what a crap ending...
they were playing with some cool ideas,
but ultimately they didn't even matter...
grrr...

BBC NEWS | Americas | Missile defence shield test fails

BBC NEWS | Americas | Missile defence shield test fails:
"A Pentagon spokesman told Reuters news agency the test had not been tied to the question of when the national missile defence system would be declared operational."

of course not, why should it be?
I mean when we decide it's ready, it's ready, right?
no matter what the "tests" show...
who needs facts, when we've got faith!

Click opera

Brilliant...

Click opera

Click opera:
"Japan has negotiated not only the most modern landscape of any 'advanced' nation (there it goes, flicking by silently outside my shinkansen window, buildings as raked and recent as the train itself), but also the least toxic. "

They do everything better than us.
It's true.
They even rock harder.
damn them.
damn them all.
pass me another cheeseburger
and a lungfull
of whatever
that gray stuff is...

Majikthise : Ransoming the poor

Majikthise : Ransoming the poor:
"the new rules are morally wrong. Gays pay the same taxes as straights, but under the new rules, they may be eligible for only a fraction of the social services offered in their communities. The same would be true for blacks, religious minorities, atheists, and anyone else whom a faith-based organization might wish to exclude. Relaxing the preaching rules is effectively a regressive tax. Proselytizers would be paid with poor people's time in exchange for dolling out the government's money. Nice."

this should be the last word regarding "faith-based" initiatives...

Rummy

O.k. one quick comment on the whole Rummy thing...
you've read about it everywhere, but I haven't seen this response.

"You go to war with the Army you have..."

Yes, that's true if you are FORCED into war.
You guys were preparing to go into Iraq from day 1 of your administration.
The TRUTH is that you didn't build the army you needed for this invasion
because you completely miscalculated what it was going to take to do the job.
Bottom line. It's your fault. YOU OWN IT!
If we were attacked by the Iraqi Army then yes, we would HAVE to go to
war with the army we had on the day we were attacked...
When you KNOW for months, maybe years, that the war is coming, cause
it's a war you're CHOOSING then you have NO effin' excuse for sending
that army anywhere unprepared...
Grrrr...

James Wolcott

James Wolcott:
"As a playwright (Aunt Dan and Lemon, The Designated Mourner), Wallace Shawn is more subversive and brain-worming than a petty sadist like Neil LaBute, but as a social conscience he's softer, vulnerable to attack and ridicule."

anyone have/or seen a copy of "Final Edition"?
sounds great to me...

die puny humans

die puny humans: "Florida scientists have grown a brain in a petri dish and taught it to fly a fighter plane.

The scientists hope that their research will lead to hybrid computers with organic components, allowing more flexible and varied means of solving problems.

One potential application is to install living computers in unmanned aircraft for missions too dangerous for humans."

We're one step closer to Ceylons!
YAY! anything we can do to further the machines taking over I'm all for!!! C'mon SKYNET! BRING IT ON!!!

I mean they couldn't do a worse job than us right?
and if we're lucky they'll decide to use us as batteries and then we can go kick ass in the matrix.

ah, there's nothing quite like playing god, is there?

Henry Ford Lives!

so, here's a follow-up to the last post...
how many of you had to have background checks for your current job?
drug tests?

how much private info are you willing to give up for a job?
if they wanted your measurements?
your cholesterol level?
your sexual history?

I mean, realistically speaking all of those are as relevant as a
credit report to determining say, how well you could sell theatre
tickets or support cisco hardware, right?

Where do we draw a line as a society? why are we all so quick to give
up our personal data, our personal history, just to collect a
paycheck?

It's only a matter of time before Mr. Ford starts sending pinkertons
by the house to make sure you're in bed on time, or reading to your
kids, or whatever other idea Johnny Employer gets in his head...
grrr!!

That's some catch, that catch-22!

so, here, in a nutshell is where I'm at...
lost "good" job I applied for ran a credit check, and then wouldn't
hire me. When I lost my last tech-job the first thing to lost out was
my creditors. It's true! I chose to eat and keep my utilities on
rather than pay my credit card debts. So, they all show up on my
credit report... If I ever really recover (which I still haven't) I'd
be happy to take out a consolidation loan, or work with my creditors
to start paying these debts off. Can't do that till I get a decent
paying job, and I can't get hired for a decent paying job because of
the debt...

so, I just got the call about a new job yesterday...
I start Monday...
but I'll probably end up getting fired again AFTER they finish the
background check and discover that yes, while unemployed, I was
FREAKIN' POOR!!!!

so, until I get a decent job I can't even think about cleaning up my
credit report, and because of my credit report I can't get a good
job!!!

WHOOHOOO!!!

I've already given notice at my part time gig, which means I'll either
by fully employed, or fully unemployed by the end of next week!!!

YAY!

Jesus' General

Jesus' General:

"Our Leader knows better. He knows there's no tomorrow. That's why He's spending like He's His brother, Neil, at a Bangkok men's club. He understands that our children and grandchildren will never see the bill. They'll be raptured long before it ever comes due."

I would give this guy money!!!

http://www.diepunyhumans.com/archives/001055.html

in fact, I've been saying for some time that if we're serious about
fighting terrorism we need to start training all citizens in Kung
Fu...and the earlier we start the better...

Jackie Chan's planes never get hijacked...

Michael Paulus :: Skeletal Systems

Michael Paulus :: Skeletal Systems

I want your skull.
I need your skull.

ahh, just beautiful stuff...

the war on wars

not going to get into this whole hawk/dove thing going on between
atrios and matt yglesias...
just gonna quote this from pandagon:
http://www.pandagon.net/mtarchives/004135.html#more
" the danger for the left was always that it would go well and we'd
have been on the wrong side of liberation,"
and then say if that was the only danger then there was NO DANGER!
Look at who was in charge of the war effort and try to say again that
there was any danger things would go well...i wouldn't let rummy tie
my shoes much less lead a war...when liars who have no interest in the
truth make plans they make them based on lies therefore they are
doomed to fail.
That said I'm a pacifist...
any war that happens is going to have to happen without my support...

Stuck in the 50's tonight...

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/12/03/abstinence/index.html

"Just as a woman needs to feel a man's devotion to her, a man has a
primary need to feel a woman's admiration. To admire a man is to
regard him with wonder, delight, and approval. A man feels admired
when his unique characteristics and talents happily amaze her."

ARGH! o.k....old folks, I know you're nostalgic for your childhood
when men were men, sheep were sheep, and mensturation was still called
the curse...
but c'mon...it's the 21st Century and y'all are throwing out years and
years of progress here...
If any of you ladies regard me with "wonder, delight, and approval"
well, I want some of whatever you're taking...

Eschaton

Eschaton:
"Shake off this sadness, and recover your spirit;
Sluggish you will never see the wheel of fate
That brushes your heel as it turns going by,
The man who wants to live is the man in whom life is abundant.

Now you are only giving food to that final pain
Which is slowly winding you in the nets of death,
But to live is to work, and the only thing which lasts
Is the work; start there, turn to the work.

Throw yourself like seed as you walk, and into your own field,
Don't turn your face for that would be to turn it to death,
And do not let the past weigh down your motion.

Leave what's alive in the furrow, what's dead in yourself,
For life does not move in the same way as a group of clouds;
From your work you will be able one day to gather yourself."

DO THE WORK!

Linus Pauling Quartet

Linus Pauling Quartet: "Clinton: Mournbong and Stonebringer are twin bongs, forged by a forgotten race on a distant planet. When the planet was destroyed, a few refugees escaped, bringing the bongs and seeds from their best hydro to Earth, where they fought an eon-long battle with the Bug People, the earth's protean inhabitants. Both races were nearly destroyed and their remnants driven into remote places, but the aliens passed their legacy, and the Twin Bongs of Power, to humanity as they slowly emerged from apedom. The bongs have been carried by many of the masters of the human race: brought back from the far east by the Greeks during the time of Alexander, they passed into the hands of the Roman Emperors, but were separated from one another during this time. William the Conqueror brought Mournbong into England at Hastings, for example - even as Stonebringer languished in the hands of the Popes. Supposedly Hitler had a plot to obtain both bongs, and fulfill the medieval legend that stated the apocalypse would occur when a single man wielded both at the same time - conquering both time and space, as it were, in the Great Singularity: an event where man himself becomes omnipotent and thereby destroys the universe in his ignorance. This was thwarted, but almost came to pass again recently when my high school dope buddy Mike Gunn obtained both bongs through a series of chance occurrences. Fortunately, Mike's mom confiscated his bongs and his stash prior to the planned smoke-in, and thereby the human race narrowly avoided the apocalypse. We think the bongs are probably in the control of the NSA at this time, though rumor has it that Mike managed to keep Mournbong and still uses it occasionally."


Go Linus!
check it out!

Eschaton

Eschaton:
" In 1996, when 40 percent of Americans based their votes on 'moral values,' they re-elected Bill Clinton. Now that the number of Americans who base their votes on 'moral values' has been cut almost in half, they selected George Bush."

we need to make sure THIS bit of info is quoted everywhere...

Eschaton

Eschaton:
" In 1996, when 40 percent of Americans based their votes on 'moral values,' they re-elected Bill Clinton. Now that the number of Americans who base their votes on 'moral values' has been cut almost in half, they selected George Bush."

we need to make sure THIS bit of info is quoted everywhere...

They Will Know Us By Our T-Shirts: Melting My Faith

They Will Know Us By Our T-Shirts: Melting My Faith:
"Jesus Warms My Heart. Stop to think about that from the perspective of a snowman."

Burnt Orange Report

Burnt Orange Report

just another mess to file under: GO TEXAS!

Daily Kos :: Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.

Daily Kos :: Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.:
"...Herbert may be on to something: this administration, especially in terms of its foreign and defense policy, may be a big exercise in saying screw you to, in addition to most of the world and nearly half the country, the administration members' own elders, mentors, and parents."

so, it's like the 60's? only evil?

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth
via Atrios...

Do I look at more porn now than I did pre-internet?
not sure...though I'm sure I look at a wider variety...
the worst thing about most porn is that it is actually
somewhat dulling to imagination...
but sometimes, well, it can give you ideas you'd almost
never come up with on your own...
(and no, I'm not providing a link...)

Dick Cheney - the picture

Eros Blog: The Sex Blog -- By Bacchus

Cheney was talking as he paced around me, "I could stuff you and mount you like a jackalope and call you a two legged dear. Or I could stuff you with this (he unzipped his pants to reveal his oversized penis) right down your throat, and then mount you. Which do you prefer?"

[CTRL] Photo corroborates Cheney/sex-slave story

> -Caveat Lector-
>
>
>
>
> [http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/122004/pressroom.html]
>
> Milwaukee Magazine December 2004:
> Joining Vice President Dick Cheney's motorcade in Green Bay, Milwaukee
> Journal Sentinel photographer Dale Guldan hoped to capture a unique
> image during an otherwise scripted campaign visit in September.
>
> Did he ever...
>
> Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr convinced Cheney to
> make an unscheduled stop in Glendale to visit local favorite Kopp's
> Frozen Custard, according to New York Times reporter Rick Lyman.
>
> When Cheney ordered a decaf coffee and sat on a concrete ledge
> outside, Kopp's manager Scott Borkin graciously brought him a sample
> of frozen custard...
>
> The normally serious Cheney flashed a winning smile for Borkin, and
> Guldan snapped an attention-grabbing photo that would later be chosen
> for the front page of the paper's September 11 Metro section.
>
> Guldan got a call from a reader the next day. "Did you notice anything
> unusual about that picture?" the reader asked.
>
> Upon closer inspection, it seems the vice president's smile was not
> his biggest, ahem, asset. Is that what we think it is?
>
> "You're not imagining it," Guldan says of the unintentionally revealing
> photo.
>
> Let's just say the snugness of Cheney's pants left little to the
> imagination...
>
> One Journal Sentinel reader pointed out the blooper in an e-mail to
> WKLH-FM radio hosts Dave Luczak, Carole Caine and Kevin Brandt, who
> had a hoot talking about it during their popular morning show.
>
> "It's nice to have someone of that magnitude in the White House," Brandt
> joked.
>
> "He's got a porn career right there," Caine snickered.
> [...]
> Want to see the picture for yourself? Catch it while you can at your
> public library's periodical desk because chagrined Journal Sentinel
> officials are not in a sharing mood.
>
> You won't find it on jsonline.com ...
>
> Meanwhile, Mark Hoffman, deputy photo editor, suggested we try the
> paper's Photo Sales Service. Don't bother. To check its availability,
> we ordered and paid for a color copy of the Cheney photo, only to get
> a call the next day voiding the deal.
>
> Journal Sentinel: "That photograph is not for sale."
>
> The Konformist September 2000:
> For those who have received Doctorates in Conspiracy Theory, the name
> Dick Cheney (George W. Bush's pick for Vice-President) brings up the
> humorous image presented in Cathy O'Brien's notorious "non-fiction"
> tale, Trance Formation of America. In her auto-biography, Cathy
> describes her supposed victimization during her years as a CIA sex
> slave. One of her more vivid tales is her abuse by Mr. Cheney, who
> apparently goes by the name "Dick" thanks to his overly large penis.
> Cathy describes Most Dangerous Game inspired human hunts turned sex
> romps involving Cheney and sex slaves, including herself.
>
> Later on, George Bush, strung out on heroin, tries to convert Cheney
> to pedophilia on Cathy's daughter, Kelly. However, "Upon seeing
> Cheney's unusually large penis, Kelly reeled back in horror."
>
> For more on Cheney's "Most Dangerous Game" hunting trips, see Of
> Scalia, orgies, Cheney, and 'hunting trips'
>
>
> --
> www.total411.info
> www.libertythink.com
> www.total911.info
>
> www.ctrl.org
> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
> ==========
> CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing
> propagandic
> screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceâ?"not soap-boxingâ?"please! These are
> sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'â?"with its many half-truths, mis-
> directions and outright fraudsâ?"is used politically by different groups
> with
> major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and
> thought.
> That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
> always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
> credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
>
> Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
> ========================================================================
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>
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> ctrl
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> Om


One day I'll find a way to stage parts of trance-formation...
it's an amazing book...

Day-O Rampage!! -REPTILE WATCH!

Day-O Rampage!!

damn lizard people!

Daily Kos :: Face it, Howard Dean is not the problem, we are the problem

Daily Kos :: Face it, Howard Dean is not the problem, we are the problem:
"So, what was/is the real problem with Howard?"
Can't trace his bloodline back to Charlemagne?
not a reptile?
I give up, what?

Salon.com Politics

Salon.com Politics:
"And I hope that you die / And your death'll come soon / I will follow your casket / In the pale afternoon / And I'll watch while you're lowered / Down to your deathbed / And I'll stand o'er your grave / 'Til I'm sure that you're dead. "

Masters of War-a-thon anyone?

The Legend of Jack Daniels

The Town Talk

I drink it because I like the taste.
I could care less about awards, longevity, legends, etc...
I like it, and it gets me drunk.

Wu Tang Clan Co-Founder O.D.B. Dead at 35

Yahoo! News - Wu Tang Clan Co-Founder O.D.B. Dead at 35

If only this were surprising.
sad, it is.
but not surprising.

Maybe Partying Will Help

Salon.com Life | Perverse pleasure is the best revenge

MAKE THIS A GOOD WEEKEND!
MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Salon.com Life | Tex ed

Salon.com Life | Tex ed:
"Hey, kids! Want to know how to avoid contracting a sexually transmitted disease?
'Get plenty of rest.' "

I've been watching a lot of old sex ed films...
we are entering the 50's everyone...
and while beatniks are cooler than hippies,
it's still gonna be ugly, overall...

Salon.com | The Texas chainsaw massacre

Salon.com | The Texas chainsaw massacre: "The paucity of tax revenue also means that Texas lags behind other states in virtually every health and human services category. It has maintained a permanent underclass for decades. In 1980, it ranked 39th in the percentage of citizens living in poverty. Last year, Texas tied for 47th in that category. Among the 50 states, Texas ranks dead last in the percentage of poor children with adequate health insurance and last in the percentage of citizens who have high school degrees. It's first in the number of people killed by handguns, first in the number of people executed, and first in the number of people in prison. "


The eyes of Texas are upon you.
I gotta get the hell out.

Fw: Flash Flood Warning for Harris County

I'll swim to the polls in the morning if I have to...
and this isn't even a swing state...
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 2:05 AM
Subject: Flash Flood Warning for Harris County


> Issued at: 2:01 AM CST 11/2/04, expires at: 5:00 AM CST 11/2/04
>
> The NWS in league city has issued a
>
> flash flood warning for: matagorda county in southeast texas galveston
> county in southeast texas brazoria county in southeast texas chambers
> county in southeast texas jackson county in southeast texas wharton county
> in southeast texas fort bend county in southeast texas harris county in
> southeast texas
> Until 500 am cst
> At 155 am cst, doppler radar indicated and local law enforcement officials
> reported flash flooding from thunderstorms along and south of a line from
> baytown to league city to angleton.
> Flooding is expected in or near, alvin, anahuac, angleton, bacliff, bay
> city, dickinson, friendswood, kemah, league city, palacios, seabrook,
> sweeny, webster, west columbia, rosharon, and wallisville.
> Between 145 am and 200 am cst law enforcement officials reported
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blues in the grass

a match

a glass

green

the taste of sulfur

a late night

what might as well be

speed

in a can

tomorrow's a big day

decides a lot of things

and I can't sleep

can't sleep at all

nobody to call

the sound of the rain

the rising waters

parked a block away

got wet

then played

two blues

too punk

pie place closed

so I came home

and here I am

busting open roaches

lighting matches

and wishing I could sleep

cabaret tonight and tomorrow 10 and 12pm...the axiom...c'mon down...

to Jack Babylon's Heat City Cabaret of Politics, Horror and Hats (hats?)

10pm

and

12pm

both night...

songs, dancing girls, humor, puppets...

you know the drill...

 

M

I think I prefer Joy Division.

New York Post Online Edition: gossip:
"a cousin of Kerry's, Michael Paine, was a close friend of Oswald who fre quently had the assassin as a house guest. Paine even stored the rifle Oswald used to shoot Kennedy at his house."

heads or tails folks...either way we're shortchanged...
remember Neil Bush and Scott Hinckley's connection?

So, when Nader says there's no difference between Bush and Kerry in some ways he's right...
they are both reptiles from the same genealogical line...
they are both connected to the intelligence community...
they are just warring factions of elites lording over us...
Kerry understands we'll make better drones if we're taken care of just a little...that's the difference...

it's all "thesis-antithesis-synthesis"...
Bush is making extreme moves enacting "the agenda". He knows it will push us towards Kerry and the Dems that will then make other extreme moves towards enacting "the agenda"....
Bush stirs up the middle east, Kerry finishes the job.
Bush brings down our standard of living,
Kerry brings us back into the world as a weaker actor.
All moving towards...wait for it...

THE NEW WORLD ORDER!

Off the Kuff

Off the Kuff: "Thirty years ago this Halloween, a man living in the Houston suburb of Deer Park murdered his 8-year-old son by spiking a package of Pixy Stix with cyanide. Halloween has never been the same since."

ahhh...
my home town...
I remember it well, or well, I don't really...
I guess I was 4 at the time...
but I do remember going to the church or the school for some kind of fall festival and not trick or treating as a kid...
sure do like pixy sticks though...

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Fix

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Fix:
"Weird Halloween factoid (insert your own 'bloodsucking politician' joke here): George W. Bush and John Kerry are ninth cousins twice removed and can each trace their lineage back to Vlad II Dracul, the 15th century Transylvanian warlord who inspired Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' (Ancestry.com, via Rush and Molloy) . "

fucking reptiles.
we're catching up to them.
think I'll go have a heart attack now.

John Peel dies

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3955289.stm

 

 

Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies

Veteran BBC broadcaster John Peel has died at the age of 65, while on holiday in Peru.

Peel, whose radio career spanned 40 years, was on a working holiday in the city of Cuzco with his wife Sheila when he suffered a heart attack.

He was BBC Radio 1's longest-serving DJ and in recent years had also presented Home Truths on Radio 4.

Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt said Peel's contribution to modern music and culture was "immeasurable".

'Hugely missed'

He added: "John Peel was a broadcasting legend. I am deeply saddened by his death as are all who work at Radio 1. "John's influence has towered over the development of popular music for nearly four decades.

 

"Hopeful bands all over the world sent their demo tapes to John knowing that he really cared.

"His commitment and passion for new music only grew stronger over the years. In fact, when I last saw him he was engaged in a lively debate with his fellow DJs over the state of new music today

"He will be hugely missed."

Mr Parfitt told Radio 1's Newsbeat that Peel had been on a holiday of a lifetime when he died.

'Irreplaceable'

He added: "He had gone on holiday with Sheila to a place where he had always wanted to go."

BBC director general Mark Thompson said: "We are all very shocked and saddened by the news of John's death.

"He was one of the giants of radio and will be missed, not just by everyone at the BBC, but by millions of listeners of all ages."

Tony Blair's spokesman said the Prime Minister was "genuinely saddened by the news".

He added: "His view is that he was a unique voice in British broadcasting and used that voice to unearth new talent and different subjects and make them accessible to a much wider audience."

Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley, who presented coverage of the Glastonbury Festival with Peel, paid tribute to her colleague and close friend.

She said: "John was simply one of my favourite men in the whole world - as a music fan and presenter he was simply an inspiration."

Mainstream music

Peel was born in Heswall, near Liverpool, and after completing his military service in Britain in 1962, went to the US where he began working for a radio station in Dallas.

It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard James Dean Bradfield, Manic Street Preachers

He joined Radio 1 at the launch in 1967, and established himself with the late night programme Top Gear.

He became one of the first DJs to give exposure to punk, reggae and hip-hop, before they crossed over into the mainstream.

Peel's programme built up a reputation around the world, and in addition to his Radio 1 programme, he could also be heard on the BBC's World Service.

James Dean Bradfield, lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, paid tribute to Peel.

He told BBC News Online: "It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard.

"He was a lifeline to hearing music I would never have heard otherwise. The service he provided was getting to hear music that you couldn't buy in Cardiff. He was a portal to a whole new world."

He always had his finger on the pulse of the music industry Michael Bradley, Undertones

Blur lead singer Damon Albarn said John Peel's patronage was "one of the most significant things that happened to us in our careers".

"The world is going to be a poorer place with his sudden departure. I will miss him deeply," he added.

"I want to send my heartfelt sympathy to his lovely family. John's memory will never be forgotten because he had the spirit of music in him."

Favourite record

After announcing Peel's death on Radio 1, the station played his favourite song, Teenage Kicks, by the Undertones.

Michael Bradley, bass player for the Undertones, spoke of his shock on learning of Peel's death.

He said: "He was a very funny, very warm man and we will always be grateful for what he did for The Undertones.

"Personally, I find it incredible what he did for the band and we always got huge pride out of the fact that he said Teenage Kicks was his favourite single.

"He always had his finger on the pulse of the music industry and the fact that Radio 1 played the Undertones, the White Stripes and the Strokes today showed just how relevant he remained throughout his career."

test

this is only a test.

thinking too much...

leads to thoughts like this...

I live in a country where a man who woke up on his 40th birthday and decided he'd try not being a drunk is President, but I can't get a job with Clear Channel because I have bad credit.
Grrr....

on another note I think I'm gonna give NANOWRIMO a try this year...
lord knows I'm not busy enough...
I know how I'll start, but I have no idea where it will go...
and I'm staying true to my nature and tackling the first draft without an outline...
50,000 words by december 1st...
whoohoo!
anyone care to join me?

news @ nature.com�-�How to build the Universebreaking science news headlines

news @ nature.com�-�How to build the Universebreaking science news headlines: "First, the theory of relativity must apply within each individual tile (so that nothing can travel through it faster than light) and second, the assembly must preserve causality. This means that a piece of space-time cannot be constructed in such a way that an 'event' - some change in the Universe - precedes its cause."

I've always been a Hume kind of guy...
you know, constant conjunction...
this is very troubling to my worldview...
hmmm....
HELP ME!

Halley's Comment: Komodo Dragon Cheney

Halley's Comment: Komodo Dragon Cheney

"Cheney reminded me of one of those lizards that lie in the sun by the riverbank and don't seem too dangerous, in fact, look barely able to move their big languorous body, but every now and then can whip out their poisonous tongue and take down their prey. John Edwards was a barefoot boy in farm overalls, going fishing with a happy face, bamboo pole and a can of worms. I wanted to scream, 'Watch out!'"

Saw what you will about David Icke, but I love that the whole reptile thing is catching on...

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Fix

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Fix: "'No individual, regardless of race, gender, age, intelligence or athletic ability, can or should be deemed a loser,' "

umm...what if they lose?
I used to wear my "LOSER" shirt proudly...(SUB POP not ABercrombie & Fitch)

anyway, sorry about all the links to salon...even if you're as broke as my you should think about subscribing...you get a million print mags subscriptions with your paid salon subscription...everything from Maxim to The New York Review of Books. I've found it more than worth it...

Salon.com News | Bush's mystery bulge

Salon.com News | Bush's mystery bulge: "Suggestions that Bush may have using this technique stem from a D-day event in France, when a CNN broadcast appeared to pick up -- and broadcast to surprised viewers -- the sound of another voice seemingly reading Bush his lines, after which Bush repeated them. Danny Schechter, who operates the news site MediaChannel.org, and who has been doing some investigating into the wired-Bush rumors himself, said the Bush campaign has been worried of late about others picking up their radio frequencies -- notably during the Republican Convention on the day of Bush's appearance. 'They had a frequency specialist stop me and ask about the frequency of my camera,' Schechter said. 'The Democrats weren't doing that at their convention.' "

Does anyone have a copy of this CNN broadcast?
If our President can't even be bothered to remember some talking points and occasionally think on his feet...ah...jeez...this is just sad...

Article: Device translates spoken Japanese and English�| New Scientist

Article: Device translates spoken Japanese and English�| New Scientist
via Warrren Ellis over at Die Puny Humans!

this is just about the coolest thing ever...
now if they can just shape it like a fish and have us insert directly into our ears!

New York Post Online Edition: gossip

New York Post Online Edition: gossip

I've only ever drank 86 proof Jack...
I didn't even know it was originally 90 proof...
damn...
""We researched it and decided the majority of people wanted a less potent drink."
and those people, the ones who want a less potent drink are not gonna drink JD anyway...
damn....

Off the Kuff: Craddick's turn

Off the Kuff: Craddick's turn

Off the Kuff has everything you need to know about the Craddick/Delay scandal...

ex-lion tamer

ex-lion tamer: "anarchist communitarianism is a lot of fun to fantasize about and practice as much as possible in one's personal life, but when you live in a culture pretty much crowded by people intoxicated by sex, drugs, violence and the latest fashion and technological gadgetry, the only hope for any kind of awakening is some serious, serious pain."

I picked that cause I liked it...but damn!
go read the whole thing...
it makes sense and it works.
but the question is, how does a misanthrope like me get involved in the community infrastructure?

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Fix

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Fix: "Also: Richard Linklater has signed on to direct the remake of 'The Bad News Bears,' starring Billy Bob Thornton "

I didn't think they could do this and possibly improve on the original in any way...
now I only think...WOW! I can't wait...bad santa and school of rock are actually two of my favorite recent movies...

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow: September 05, 2004 - September 11, 2004 Archives

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow: September 05, 2004 - September 11, 2004 Archives

Another scary story from Gitmo on the Hudson...
this is so wrong and unamerican...

Daily Kos :: Ahnold the Lienator

Daily Kos :: Ahnold the Lienator

And some people said Ahnold wasn't really a Republican...
He sure can lie just like one...

Daily Kos :: Something for Bush to talk about

Daily Kos :: Something for Bush to talk about:
"All hail Bush the economic wonder! "

Well, the republicans may be warmongering freedom haters, but at least they're bad for the economy...

The All-New All-Different Howling Curmudgeons: Curmudgeonly Comments: Spoiled

The All-New All-Different Howling Curmudgeons: Curmudgeonly Comments: Spoiled: "UFF: I think Marvel stopped pretending the Ultimate line was for new readers long ago. This is for the same old readers, who apparently really do want to read the same old stories, only with irony and cannibalism. Who knew?"

Best summation of the ultimate line I've seen so far.
follow the link if you want to read an in-depth discussion about Warren Ellis and the Fantasticar.

www.mnftiu.cc | get your war on | page 39

www.mnftiu.cc | get your war on | page 39

first off...looks like this link will work...
we'll see...

second...go read "get your war on" it'll make ya laugh till ya cry, or vice-versa...

Guardian Unlimited Books %7C News %7C Blowin%27 the gaff%3A Dylan to tell all

Guardian Unlimited Books %7C News %7C Blowin%27 the gaff%3A Dylan to tell all: "Dylan, who at the age of 63 is planning to go on tour with Willie Nelson this summer, is set to focus on significant and influential periods of his life in the first of three books called simply Chronicles: Volume One, according to his publisher. "

ok...the books are good news...
but the willie and dylan tour...
when can I buy my ticket?

that sounds just about perfect...

Talking Points Memo%3A by Joshua Micah Marshall%3A August 22%2C 2004 - August 28%2C 2004 Archives

Talking Points Memo%3A by Joshua Micah Marshall%3A August 22%2C 2004 - August 28%2C 2004 Archives

"And, yes, does that mean that in this day and age people would have the right to have access to the kind of the weapons our ordinary infantry people have access to? With proper training and so forth to make sure that they could handle them successfully, that's exactly what was meant."

just to make sure you all know I'm crazy too,
I think Keyes is right.
The whole point of arming the citezenry was so that they could protect themselves from the police and the army, abuses of the gov't and so forth. And they can't do that if the army can outgun them.

CFHFP%3A Quotes and Opinions From Vets Who Served With Bush - A BuzzFlash Reader Contribution

CFHFP%3A Quotes and Opinions From Vets Who Served With Bush - A BuzzFlash Reader Contribution: "why can't he recall a single name out of the 700 men he served with and why hasn't a single guy come forward to say he served with Bush?"

Capital Games

Capital Games

"The latest volley from the Swift Vets shows what motivates these anti-Kerry veterans. They remain mad at him for opposing the war and addressing its worst aspects."

There must be more to it than that...
if that were the whole story why would Elliot have campaigned with him in '96? They'd like the only subtext here to be Kerry's behavior after the war. However, the real behavior that needs to be examined is their behavior right now.

The New York Times %3E Opinion %3E Op-Ed Columnist%3A Voting While Black

The New York Times %3E Opinion %3E Op-Ed Columnist%3A Voting While Black: "It turns out that a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation%2C in which state troopers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando in a bizarre hunt for evidence of election fraud%2C is being conducted despite a finding by the department last May %22that there was no basis to support the allegations of election fraud.%22"

The New York Times - Friendly Fire - The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

this is the article on SBVFT everyone should be reading...
and linking to...

Something Awful

Something Awful

wow...
Watchmen remixes courtesy of somethingawful...
via bookslut...
not quite dysfunctional family circus...
but funny...

Something Awful

Something Awful

wow...
Watchmen remixes courtesy of somethingawful...
via bookslut...
not quite dysfunctional family circus...
but funny...

The Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly: "As these individuals are retired officers, they are still subject to the UCMJ. A courts martial might be the best way to resolve who is currently telling the truth."

this is the best idea I've seen yet for dealing with the SWBVFT.
if the are in fact admitting to falsifying military documents shouldn't they be prosecuted by a military court for it?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Suppress the Vote?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Suppress the Vote?: "The vile smell of voter suppression is all over this so-called investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement."

they are doing it again.

Daily Kos || The Politics of Science/Stem Cells

Daily Kos || The Politics of Science/Stem Cells: "The Dark Ages can't end soon enough."

Even the scientists are united against Bush...
the gutting of career civil servants over political considerations during this administration is nowhere more damaging than in the sciences...
Soon we'll have the gov't telling us the earth is flat and the moon is made of green cheese...
mmm...
cheese...

Nola.com: NewsFlash - Former aide says Alexander's anti-GOP letter genuine

Nola.com: NewsFlash - Former aide says Alexander's anti-GOP letter genuine: "'After discussions with members of the Republican Party who understand the need to support our nation's workers, I have come to the conclusion that it would be impossible to join a party that not only ignores the people that make this country great, but also pressures their members to vote against any and all bills that are supported by unions,' says Alexander's letter, released Wednesday by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers."

Alexander claims he didn't approve the partisan language in the letter...
Do letters often leave his office with his name on them without his approval?
if so maybe he is as incompetent as he is rotten...

The Doctored Clip Sean Hannity Doesn't Want You to Know About - Center for American Progress

The Doctored Clip Sean Hannity Doesn't Want You to Know About - Center for American Progress

How do they keep getting away with this?
What kind of world is this when Hannity still has a job?

What Would Buffy Do? Home.

What Would Buffy Do? Home.

via bookslut...
I still think I prefer "What Would Willie Do?"

KTRU Playsheet

KTRU Playsheet

Just got back from a KTRU set...
fun fun...
been missing it...
3 hours seems long for a general shift...
and two is way too short for a jazz shift...
just sayin...

Sea and Sky and Land - GRRR!

Sea and Sky and Land - GRRR!: "I pause and say, in that tone of voice that most people would recognize as meaning, 'have you lost your grip completely, chuckles?': 'You need to confiscate... a book.'

'Yes. I feel it's inappropriate for the other people on the ferry to be exposed to it.'"

they hate our freedom?
who, the terrorists?
no, the people in charge!

mattgunn.com

mattgunn.com: "REP. GOSS: It is true I was in CIA from approximately the late 50's to approximately the early 70's. And it's true I was a case officer, clandestine services officer and yes, I do understand the core mission of the business. I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified. I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably. And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day, 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.' Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have."

well, there you have it...
the man himself says he's not qualified for the job...
case closed.
This better come up in the confirmation hearings...

Krugman vs. O'Reilly -- my clips

Krugman vs. O'Reilly -- my clips

one of the producers of "outfoxed" has put together his own highlight reel of the OReilly/Krugman debate (from the Russert Show)...
I found the whole thing somewhere and it's worth downloading and watching if you missed it...

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow: August 08, 2004 - August 14, 2004 Archives

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow: August 08, 2004 - August 14, 2004 Archives

once a cheat, always a cheat.

FIT FOR COMMAND?

someone at B&N is on our team...
this was the pic they had posted on the actual page for the book for a (short) while...

The Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly

WOW! First Plame, now this...
this gang has NO respect for our people in the intelligence services...
revealing undercover ops for political gain is really just astounding behavior.
It's the kind of behavior honest security minded conservatives should be HOWLING over...

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Book extract: How To Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Book extract: How To Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson: "(I would question the sanity of a religion that holds up the ant as an example of how to live. The ant system is an exploitative aristocracy based on the unthinking toil of millions of workers and the complete inactivity of a single queen and a handful of drones.) "

in defense of slack...

First Draft - Wage Data from Today's Job Report

First Draft - Wage Data from Today's Job Report

so, not only are jobs not even increasing at a rate to keep up with the new folks reaching working age, but we're still bleeding real wages!
grrr....

Voters live in Cartoon Nation. The nation's big news orgs? 'Don't care'

Voters live in Cartoon Nation. The nation's big news orgs? 'Don't care': "YOU�LL SEE IT HERE AND NOWHERE ELSE: �By any measure of his votes,� Carlson said, Kerry is �the most liberal member of the Senate.� When GOP hacks say that Kerry and Edwards are first and fourth most liberal senators, they are citing a survey from National Journal. But on March 6, that very same Journal�explicitly responding to this misleading claim�published its list of current senators with the most liberal lifetime voting records. Here it is�the Journal�s Top Ten. Guess whose names aren�t on it?
National Journal: Most liberal senators, lifetime voting
1. Mark Dayton, D-Minn.
2. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md.
3. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
4. Jon Corzine, D-N.J.
5. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
6. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
7. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
8. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
9. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
10. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt
�By any measure of his votes,� Carlson said, Kerry is �the most liberal member.� Will CNN correct this groaning misstatement�an apparent lie? Of course they won�t; the net doesn�t care. Of course, there�s little sign that Brazile or McMahon give a good flying f*ck either. It�s good to be a Washington pundit. Why waste time on such affairs?"


sorry about the crummy formatting, but hey, I'm lazy...
the point is...
let's get this list circulating...

MMFA investigates: Who is Jerome Corsi, co-auth ... [Media Matters for America]

MMFA investigates: Who is Jerome Corsi, co-auth ... [Media Matters for America]

co-author of?
the swift boat veterans attack book...
go check it out...
we need to get these quotes out there so reasonable folks can see who they are listening to...

M

The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail: "There is just no explanation for what was going on at that time, Mr. Rutkowski says."

Oh there is an explanation all right...
but you don't want to hear it...
you don't want to hear about the hollow earth!
or the underground bases in New Mexico!
or the Nazi's at the north pole!
NO! You just want to ignore the reptiles among us!

yeah, well, I guess that's your choice...
but don't say you weren't warned!!!

The Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly: "So what do we know? We know that Bush skipped five months of drills without permission, but we've known that since last March. In addition, though, we now know that despite what he says, Bush never made up any of the drills he missed."


How is it folks can even think about attacking Kerry's military record when Bush's record is that he went AWOL in wartime?

Daily Kos || Comments || McCain lashes out against anti-Kerry ad

Daily Kos || Comments || McCain lashes out against anti-Kerry ad

Ok...maybe you've heard about this "swift boat veterans for truth"?
Maybe you've seen their ad condeming Kerry's Vietnam record even though none of them served with him on his boat?
even though every medal Kerry got had to be requested and approved by his higher ups (they are essentially calling his officers liars)...
Well, most of their funding comes from Bob Perry, of Perry Homes...
check out the link above for a link to one way to contact them, and read through more of the comments for other ways and people to contact...
Let's let Perry know we'll be buying our homes elsewhere...

Where in Washington, D.C. is Sun Myung Moon?: Rev. Moon's submarines, sold to Kim Jong-Il, empower a nuke threat to the West Coast

Where in Washington, D.C. is Sun Myung Moon?: Rev. Moon's submarines, sold to Kim Jong-Il, empower a nuke threat to the West Coast

VIA Atrios of course...

so, can Kerry go after Moon when he's elected?
the man is obviously an enemy of the United States,
and he gives generously to many conservatives and conservative causes. We need to shut him down.

Eschaton: "The Times reports today that much of the information that led to the heightened alert is actually three or four years old and that authorities had found no concrete evidence that a terror plot was actually under way. This news does nothing to bolster the confidence Americans need that the administration is not using intelligence for political gain."

yes, this is about the recent "terror alert"...
the one right after the dem convention...
is there no level to which these folks won't sink?

Ashcroft Tells Libraries to Destroy Citizen-Friendly Publications - BuzzFlash News Alert

now they are actually trying to get the texts of federal statutes out of the libraries...
wouldn't want citizens to be able to know and take advantage of the law, would we?

GRRRR!

Daily Kos || Everyone Should Take Action on Computerized Voting Machines

I am.
I'm ordering an absentee ballot...
I suggest everyone who would like their vote counted do the same.

Will Ferrell - A message from White House West

WHOOHOO!
Will Ferrell reprises his SNL GW role in a political ad directed by one of the SNL directors...

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Kerry's war didn't end in the Mekong: "In October 1986, Kerry questioned the neoconservative assistant secretary of state for Latin America, Elliot Abrams, who brazenly lied about foreign funding for the contras. This testimony led, in time, to Abrams pleading guilty to a felony. (He was pardoned by Bush Snr and is now NSC chief for Middle East policy.) "

This article makes a pretty good argument for Kerry possibly being an honest fighter against the "secret government"...
you know, the guys who actually run things (at least since the Kennedy administration (and assassination) if not before...)

but since he's skull & bones and probably a reptile to boot I'm not holding my breath for a real house cleaning in the intelligence community...

Pandagon: My Foot Is Full Of Holes; I Blame Democrats: "This is the long and short of it - Bush rejected a biill that served his political purposes because it appealed to too many people. Game over - everybody loses!"

the inanity of this is mind-boggling...
and is yet another illustration of this administrations dedication to politics over policy...

Off the Kuff: "But privately, many GOP Members and aides said they have reached a strategic conclusion: If there's an ethics war, they can't win."

You know, I never followed Chris Bell at all until he brought Delay up before the ethics committee... If he can get rid of the bug man it'll be a truly great day for Texas and I'll support him in ANY future races from here on out...

Jesus' General: "The General has always thought that corporate influence in government is good thing, and he did not see any irony in the fact that while the corporate sponsors wined and dined and pitched the governors, working people were forced to petition their elected officials from behind police lines a block away. That's how 21st century American capitalism works. Those who don't like it should accept the fact that there are two Americas and be happy that they're at least citizens of one of them. I am, and I take pleasure in my service to the ruling class. "

that about sums it up...
ready to head to your free speech zone sir?

Liberty - Dark Horse on the Third Ballot: "The nomination process was over. LP delegates had chosen as their standard-bearer a man who had willfully refused to file his federal tax return for years, refused to get a driver's license but continued to drive his car despite having been ticketed so many times that he couldn't recall the exact number, proposed to blow up the United Nations building, wanted to force criminals in prisons to stay in bed until their muscles atrophied, and planned to force Congress to take a 'special version' of his class on the Constitution. And the overwhelming majority of delegates didn't know any of this about their nominee"

via www.washingtonmonthly.com and Hit & Run

The Libs did it! They actually found a bigger nutcase than GW to run!
Don't get me wrong, I love me some tinfoil hat...but I'm not running for president...yet...
I have plans for '08, but since I'll be running strictly as a nutcase I think that'll be o.k...

Eschaton: "In 1994, an eight-year old girl named Valerie Lakey was playing in a wading pool. She got caught in a defective drain. Her intestines were ripped from her body by the suction. She is now 17. She will have to be fed through a tube, 12 hours a day, for the rest of her life. In 1997, John Edwards won her family a $25 million judgment, of which he took a portion. The judgment helped jump-start his political career.

On the first day of last year, as part of his opening comments on Crossfire, this is how the incident was described by Tucker Carlson, whom public and private broadcasting networks tumble all over themselves to hire: 'Four years ago, he (Edwards) was a personal-injury lawyer specializing in Jacuzzi cases.'"

ARGH!
It's really amazing what lapdogs for bush and the crew the media has become...

www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish: "Of course, Pat Boone's orange-chartreuse-sherbert jacket stole the show. But hey, no one can accuse the GOP of being out of touch with the 1950s, can they? "

hehe...
Mostly I read Andy to get mad...kinda like watching O'Reilly...
but that one really made me laugh...

Eschaton

Send a letter to George...
to be read as part of theatre project in October...

interesting stuff...

Columns: The GOP doubters on Bush: "'My father was a Democrat and used to say that when Republicans are in charge even the fishing is bad. You know what? The fishing around here has been terrible.'"

a nice story about Republicans turning against Bush...
via atrios...

HoustonChronicle.com - I write badly, therefore I am a would-be terrorist: "If I could give myself practical advice and take it, this is what I'd say: Forget the things you read in history class about America, Charlie. Forget all the stuff about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Just keep your head down and your eyes peeled for that 'line.'"

just read it...
via political animal...

Eschaton: "Under the proposal, some prisoners would in effect be kept off public records and away from the scrutiny of lawyers and judges."

see, when the SUPREME court makes a call you don't like, well ya just go ahead and ignore it...
that's the thing to do, right?

The Poor Man: My! Such A Silly Series Of Entirely Inadvertent Accidental Exculpatory Evidence-Erasing Mistakes!

"What a silly series of time travel screw-ups have prevented us from seeing the exact files which would have conclusively proven the President's complete innocence!"

I just talking about how I needed a time machine the other day...
and I wouldn't even use mine to get the president off the hook...
c'mon time machine people, get in touch!

Abu Ghraib, USA | Anne-Marie Cusac | July 2004 Issue: "When I heard that dogs had been used to intimidate and bite at least one detainee at Abu Ghraib, I thought of the training video shown at the Brazoria County Detention Center in Texas."

if the state of the world doesn't have you nauseous already then this article should just about do it...
via TalkLeft

News Hounds: Typical Fox "Fair & Balanced" Interview

I think the Dems need to start playing the access game a little better...
Lefties, Libs, Progressives, and even Demcratic centrists should just stop agreeing to appear on Fox News for anything and we should fight to deny them press credentials...
they are no more objective than Michael Moore and something tells me he didn't get press credentials to the Repub convention...

Sadly, No!: Children in Iraqi prisons

so, are these kids better off without Saddam?

Eschaton: "The defining case in Edwards' legal career wrapped up that same year. In 1993, a five-year-old girl named Valerie Lakey had been playing in a Wake County, N.C., wading pool when she became caught in an uncovered drain so forcefully that the suction pulled out most of her intestines. She survived but for the rest of her life will need to be hooked up to feeding tubes for 12 hours each night. Edwards filed suit on the Lakeys' behalf against Sta-Rite Industries, the Wisconsin corporation that manufactured the drain. Attorneys describe his handling of the case as a virtuoso example of a trial layer bringing a negligent corporation to heel. Sta-Rite offered the Lakeys $100,000 to settle the case. Edwards passed. Before trial, he discovered that 12 other children had suffered similar injuries from Sta-Rite drains. The company raised its offer to $1.25 million. Two weeks into the trial, they upped the figure to $8.5 million. Edwards declined the offer and asked for their insurance policy limit of $22.5 million. The day before the trial resumed from Christmas break, Sta-Rite countered with $17.5 million. Again, Edwards said no. On January 10, 1997, lawyers from across the state packed the courtroom to hear Edwards' closing argument, 'the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen,' recalls Dayton. Three days later, the jury found Sta-Rite guilty and liable for $25 million in economic damages (by state law, punitive damages could have tripled that amount). The company immediately settled for $25 million, the largest verdict in state history. For their part, Edwards and Kirby earned the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's national award for public service. "

had to quote the whole thing...

when you hear folks going after Edwards for being a trial lawyer remember this story...and tell it loudly and often. Lawyers are at times the only defense we have against corporate wrongdoing...

DNC Video: McCain

The Republicans are getting ready to release a Bush ad with McCain and the dems have pre-emptively responded...
here's what McCain really thinks of Bush and his policies...

M

Telegraph | News | Rumsfeld gave go-ahead for Abu Ghraib tactics, says general in charge: "The former head of the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad has for the first time accused the American Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, of directly authorising Guantanamo Bay-style interrogation tactics."

It's the story everybody's talking about!
right?
I mean it is, isn't it?

has he resigned yet?

ok...
just like I've been avoiding the comic shop, I've been avoiding the record shop...
but I did go in today and pick up the new remaster of Eno's "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy"...
no bonus tracks, no frills, nice packaging, and overall a pretty amazing job at cleaning up this classic...
the drums are crisper and cleaner, the reverb and other effects are much easier to hear...some of the changes in the sound make it even more Eno if that's possible...but some of the horns seem a little shrill now...
I'd put it just under the Willie Nelson "Stardust" remaster (which is amazing...made a revelation of one of my favorite records without destroying my memories of the original), and way above the job Prince did on "The Hits" or whoever did that awful ZZ top hits cd where they made all the old stuff sound like "Eliminator"....grr...
anyway, if you're wondering, yes it's safe and a good idea to go pick up the new eno remasters...
if anyone gets or has any of the others post in comments and let me know what you think...

oh, also, gonna go trade in some stuff later in the week for the Sonic Youth DVD (not "screaming fields of sonic love" but it will do for now) and the new Galaxie 500 2 dvd set...2 dvd's for a band with 4 videos...impressive...and even more impressive is that it looks like cool enough of a package that I want it...

Now, where are my Jesus and Mary Chain DVD's?

M

The Onion | Good-Citizenship Tips

Another Independence Day Special!
Citizenship tips from our good friends at the The Onion...

My favorite?:

Make an effort to "follow" politics, much the way you would follow, say, sports or the career of J-Lo.

NEWSARAMA - CLOWES & ZWIGOFF RE-TEAM FOR ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL: "EIGHTBALL #23 HITS STORES AS CLOWES &
ZWIGOFF RE-TEAM FOR ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL!"

WHOOHOO!
I've been avoiding the comic shop, but now I'll have to go back in...
A NEW EIGHTBALL!
and an "ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL" movie...
YAY!
If you haven't read Clowes before go out and pick up "Caricature", "David Boring", or if you're feeling adventurous, "Like a Velvet Glove cast in Iron"...
all quality stuff.

Daily Kos || Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.: "On the morning of November 29, 1864, the southern Arapaho chieftain, Black Kettle, awoke to the sounds of the Third Colorado Volunteers thundering across the snow covering the hills around Sand Creek, Colorado. He immediately raised a white flag alongside the 34-star American flag he had been given in Washington the previous year by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. He had been told soldiers would not attack if he flew that flag.

He had been lied to. When the slaughter was over, at least 200 southern Cheyenne and Arapaho were dead. Soldiers mutilated their bodies and took trophies of breasts and scrota to be turned into tobacco pouches and other memorabilia. The Denver papers praised the Third Colorado and Colonel Chivington, their Washington-appointed leader. In 1866, Congress held hearings on the massacre and excoriated Chivington.

When I put out the Stars and Stripes, I fly it in memory of Black Kettle and anticipate the day when everyone can justifiably put their trust in it as a flag of peace. "


happy 4th everybody...

The Raw Story | Xanadu Xero | Exposing the Illuminati: "A prophet, an opportunist, a danger, a kook --- Icke is one or a combo of these, depending whose dogma is barking. He is earth's most credible voice touting earth's most incredible theories."

I for one welcome our reptilian overlords!

Something's Got to Break :: The Time is Coming
"These people are used to wielding their power with such impunity that they've become petty, and that should scare the crap out of all of us."

exactly. I think G.W. has such a huge sense of entitlement that he has no idea how it looks for him to get snippy with a reporter. Just like he had no idea what it would look like when he cleaned his glasses on the back of one of the letterman's shows producer's during a commercial break... Everyone is there to serve him. If they aren't he can't figure out why they are there.

Balkinization
I believe Anita Hill!

F9/11: Who Knew?

I can't be the only one who assumer f911 was going to open huge. I assumed #1 movie opening weekend and breaking box office records for a documentary...
I mean come on...with Clinton's book selling millions, all the free press the our SCLM are giving it...I think it was obvious...Moore's audience has been building with ever film and people have NEVER been as hungry to hear what he has to say than right now.

M

Neil Gaiman: "So, after a week away I'm -- well not really back, but I'm home anyway, having seen The Magnetic Fields in Minneapolis last night (and chatted to Stephin about his plans for a musical stage play of Coraline), and tomorrow I fly in to New York, give the Harvey speech (which I will start to write as soon as I've finished writing this) and then straight home again, and back into my hole. "

WHOOHOOO! A musical version of Coraline done by stephen merrit...
this could be awesome!

the american street: Are You Better Off Now Than You Were in 1980?:
"The great progressive era extended from 1932 to 1968 and produced risk collectivization in the form of Social Security, Medicare, and welfare. The economy boomed and the US emerged from WWII as a financial superpower. In 1970, at the conclusion of the period, the median family household paid 16% of their incomes in tax (income and FICA) and the top 1% paid 69%. At the same time, corporations had a tax rate of 17%. The period, known as 'the great compression' because the richest and poorest Americans were closer in wealth than at any time since the early 1800s, ended in 1980 with the election of the optimistic Ronald Reagan."


the fact is, liberalism works...
when will all you "real-worlders" out there get it?

M

Dick Advice
"CNN is reporting that on the floor of the Senate yesterday, Dick Cheney told Sen. Pat Leahy, 'Go fuck yourself.'"

good thing the adults are in charge...
CRIPES! IS THIS ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR FOR A VICE-PRESIDENT ON THE SENATE FLOOR?!?!
I don't remember Gore EVER telling anyone to go fuck themselves...
in fact, if every sperm is sacred, is Cheney commanding Leahy to sin...that isn't very Christian...

Billmon: "Then during a trip to Paris, he took me to a sex club in Paris, without telling me where we were going. I told him I thought it was out of his system. I told him he had promised me we would never go. People were having sex everywhere. I cried, I was physically ill. [He] became very upset with me, and said it was not a 'turn on' for me to cry. "

alt.sex.stories?
No...
Jeri Ryan's declaration in her divorce from Republican Senator Jack Ryan. He's running against Barack Obama in Illinois.
I just hope they publish the rest of the declaration, or maybe turn it into a made for Showtime movie...

Salon.com Politics: "Bush tried to steer funding through U.S. agencies instead of an established international body, asked Congress not to fund his initiative because he said Africa governments couldn't handle the funding an even tried to delay full funding for his proposals until after his current term expired. Since signing the global AIDS Bill in May 2003, Bush has requested $1.2 billion less than what Congress approved and he signed into law, Zeitz said. The result of all this: The U.N. estimates that nearly 12 million people in poor countries will have died from AIDS during Bush's presidency and only a few thousand people will have received antiretroviral drugs from the U.S."


Gee, maybe Bush is more like Reagan than I give him credit for...

Hullabaloo

Digby helps put the torture thing in perspective...

freejazz.org - Freedom in music: "In March they were phoned from a tourist office, by some people who wanted to rent it for a month. They agreed to this, as they had no reason to suspect the people who wanted to rent, and it is not usual to ask for papers for such a short term deal. Unfortunately, unknown to them, the renters were two of the leading lights of ETA � the separatist Basque terrorist organisation."


Kent Carter and his wife rent their place to two folks...not asking for any papers or anything...next thing you know they've been placed under arrest, and although now cleared of all wrongdoing they are still not allowed to leave France...meaning Kent is having to cancel gigs...

go read the rest...

M

Discourse.net: OLC's Aug. 1, 2002 Torture Memo ("the Bybee Memo"): "('the Bybee Memo')"
great breakdown ofthe latest torture memo...

Eschaton: "5) If they can do it to Padilla, they can do it to you."

we are so screwed.
it's going to take more than a few minor corrections to put us back on course here folks...
I'm a nutcase. A screwball.
A genuine tin-foil hat wearin crazy.
I've always assumed when they decided to get any one of us, they could and would...
well, damn if it ain't turnin out to be so...
so, if you need to know how to make a tin foil hat, just ask...
who knows? it might come in handy...

I was 10 when Ronald Reagan was first elected President.
I would have voted for him then...
what did I know?
I was 10.
by 84 I was 14 and becoming a real lefty.
I had heard the Dead Kennedys and there was no turning back.
We're not supposed to celebrate his death.
Well, he was an evil man responsible for many horrible things,
and at the very least, I'm not sorry he's gone...

Can I revel when Kissinger dies at least?

M

Fragments From a Diary
via Scott Rosenberg via Salon (I think)...

Wallace Shawn on the Iraq war...from March 2003...

Eschaton

if my tinfoil hat gets any tighter I might not be able to think straight...

M

Yahoo! News - $132K of Grant to Combat Goth Returned

If the city government of Blue Springs Missourri can't help us fight the terror of Goth culture,
then who can?

News and Information | News
how did Jon Stewart become our spokesperson?
all I can say is I'm glad he's out there...

Cold Turkey -- In These Times

Vonnegut...so right on you'll double up in pain or with laughter...or some frightening combination of both...

CNN.com - Chalabi blames Baathists for raid - May 20, 2004: "When asked about that issue Thursday, Chalabi said he still believes Iraq had WMDs that are 'hidden.'
'They must be found. They constitute a danger to the Iraqi people,' he said. 'We will look for them after sovereignty.'"

how does that jibe with this?

"As far as we're concerned we've been entirely successful. That tyrant Saddam is gone and the Americans are in Baghdad. What was said before is not important. The Bush administration is looking for a scapegoat. We're ready to fall on our swords if he wants."
(First link I found offa google search for "Chalabi what was said before does not matter")

the rate stories change these days it really makes my head spin...

M

The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Editorials: "The girl's mother, also a teacher, was ordered by the principal to destroy the child's poetry. The mother refused and may lose her job."

This is completely insane. Let's teach kids to express themselves and then punish them for expressing themselves...
good thinking...

just go look...a>

via the howling curmudgeons

this is a test...
this is only a test...
test test test...
whoohooo!

TH Online

BUSH AFRAID TO FACE WWII VETERAN!

that should be the headline...

Eschaton

see, at first, I was all for the draft...thinking it would leave me here alone with all the young women...

but this just ruins everything...

not only are all the young women going to be drafted,

but I might be too...

good thing I'm so unhealthy...

way too unhealthy to die in a war...

US News Article | Reuters.com

How can Bush, Rice, etc continue to claim they were focussed on terrorism before 9/11?

Daily Kos || Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.

YES! YES! YES! we must take the battle to them...
Delay should be priority #2...right under the presidency...
gotta let folks know we've had enough Republican thuggery!

Off the Kuff: There's your tort "reform": "And the reason you were wrong is because the case for tort 'reform' is a myth. Instead of getting tough on the small minority of doctors who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of med-mal cases, instead of working to make the free market of doctors more efficient, Republicans pushed for a new artificial hindrance on that free market, and are shocked to find that it has had an unintended (albeit not unforeseeable) consequence. Best of all, to compensate for that unintended consequence, they're talking about enacting price controls. The irony is just killing me."


How is it that so many conservatives don't even understand what they claim they believe in. Tort reform is just classic class war. Protecting Goliath from David.

Whiskey Bar: Son of the Huston Plan

I am normally a rather articulate person. The reason this blog doesn't reflect that is, well, look what can I say about things like this that won't get me locked up (at best) eventually? These are dark and scary times my friends... Dark and scary.

Claim vs. Fact: Condoleezza Rice's Opening Statement - Center for American Progress

Condiliar.