Just go laugh

WaiterRant: Void Codes

Jeeeze, some of the comments are funny also.

After Foley, New Fears For the GOP

Some Say Party Could Lose House and Senate
By Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; Page A01



My response?



Sympathy is in between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.

Who's next?

Former Rep. Mark Foley Enters Rehab
MONDAY OCTOBER 02, 2006 03:30PM EST
By Stephen M. Silverman


Report: Ex-Rep. Ney to plead guilty, enter alcohol rehab



Maybe one of these two? They look like they have substance abuse problems. I don't know that, I'm just sayin.

Venezuela and Nigeria cut oil output

Hat tip: WTF? is it now?


By Carola Hoyos in London
Published: September 29 2006 19:02 Last updated: September 29 2006 19:02

Venezuela and Nigeria, both members of the Opec oil cartel, on Friday announced that they would reduce their oil production by as much as 200,000 barrels a day to shore up prices.

Gee, what fun to deal with right after the Repugnant thuglicans steal the next election.

http://www.teambio.org/2006/09/stick-a-yellow-ribbon-up-your-suv/

Borat

It probably would have been a good idea to find out who Borat was before I posted this . I don't have cable, and there's only so much TV I can stand. Ali G is all over YouTube, & it's funny, but I'm not thrilled with Borat.

this is funny: http://cheneys.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

skippy invites us to visit

the Armchair Blog's "Rick Santorum's Republican Child Molester's" page

GOP (Grand Old Pedophiles)

Blue hats and wife storage - Borat haunts Kazakh president

Blue hats and wife storage - Borat haunts Kazakh president
Ed Pilkington in New York
Saturday September 30, 2006
The Guardian

The president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, met George Bush in the White House yesterday vowing to continue to push for the modernisation of his central Asian country. "Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old," he said.

Wow, interested enough in reform to meet with Cap'n Crusades anyway.

Update: I knew there was more to this than met the eye:

China to build billion-dollar pipeline
Wednesday 27 September 2006, 17:27 Makka Time, 14:27 GMT

China has approved the construction of a multi-billion dollar pipeline to carry gas imported from Turkmenistan to China's southern business city of Guangzhou.

...The pipeline would have to go through either Kazakhstan or a combination of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan...

Um, yeah, make that oily and gassy and ready to torture Cap'n Crusades.

Think the Cap'n is taking advice from Kissinger?

Wow, even the USA Toady sez:


Don't trust vulnerable Diebold voting machines, use absentee ballots
Updated 9/29/2006 9:39 AM ET


They do NOT, however, mention that the Diebold optical scanners that some of the counties use for their absentee ballots can throw an election also.

Duh!

Detainee bill

Sooooo, everybody has something to say about the bill that the Senate passed yesterdy. I tilt to the left on most issues, so here is some commentary from the left.

“A Total Rollback Of Everything This Country Has Stood For” (audio)
Sen. Patrick Leahy Blasts Congressional Approval of Detainee Bill

How did we sink so low in just 6 years?
By Mike Whitney
“This is how a nation loses its moral compass, its identity, its freedom.” Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (1215 - 2006)
By Molly Ivins


And then I go to read this thing:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.3930:

There are 2 versions of Bill Number S.3930 for the 109th Congress1 . Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Introduced in Senate)[S.3930.IS]2 . Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Placed on Calendar in Senate)[S.3930.PCS]
(you must search for it again, the bills # is s3930)

I can't do it.
It's huge.
I think a more important question is did the people who passed it read it?
And which bill did they pass?

My friend and I just had a discussion on US Code. We decided that it was like prescription drugs: Too many is too many and they complicate, and override, nullify other perfectly good ones, and some in the wrong combination will kill you. We decided that there are too many. They fuck each other all up.

To stop and think

Okay, so I watch this video and I react with anger. Pure rage and then hatred for the Iraqis, for Iraq, mixed with a visceral loyalty for a fellow American. It happens in an instant before I even have a chance to think about it.

Troops abandon Halliburton truck driver video


And then I go read the following opinion piece, which slips in under the radar some history of the Middle East. Not something we get in our K-12 Education in the United States.

The erosion of the Arab state
By Soumaya Ghannoushi

Helllooooooooo?

Why not?

And didn't I see somewhere that Halliburton truck drivers are making three or four times what the Army privates that protect them are making?

Oh yeah, I did:
This factsheet revised January 30, 2006.

Defense CEO & Private Contractor Pay vs. Military Pay

Army Private:$24,278

Defense Contractor CEO:$100,000

General with 20+ Years Experience:$168,509

Private Military Contractor:$11,586,000

I'm not angry any more. I'm back to wondering why the fucking neocons were allowed to steal two elections and how much more damage they can do in the two years they have left.

Welcome to Pottersville: Like, Wow, Psychedelic!

Welcome to Pottersville: Like, Wow, Psychedelic!

Tomgram: Michael Klare, Why Oil Prices Are Falling

A bit time-consuming to read, but definitely helpful in understanding.

blogger is pissing me off today

Bill Clinton and Chris Wallace on Fox

Is it just me, or does this pic remind anyone else of Chris Wallace?

Bill Clinton and Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday
(September 24, 2006)

part one

part two

part three

Ok then. Jon Stewart via Crooks and Liars looks at what the MSM concentrated on highlighting about this particular interview. Freakin' hilarious.

America's Free Press

Today on the Stacy Taylor Show I listened to James Moore talk a little bit about his new book:

The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power

He'll be at the Coronado Library tonight.
He's been on the No-Fly list for a while.

Hmmmmmm.

Danny has an awesome post on an awesome man: TV Industry Praises Bill Moyers
September 26, 2006

I don't know how I missed this, but here are the Freedom of the Press rankings.

I don't get it

Chavez to Double Energy Subsidies to Needy in U.S.
By Maggie Farley
Times Staff WriterSeptember 22, 2006

Chavez Slammed For 'Devil' Remarks
Sep 21, 2006 5:55 pm US/Eastern
Democrats Take A Break From Criticizing President Bush To Defend Him

Ummmmm.... Gee, I wonder why as the Republicans are losing support the Democrats are NOT gaining support?

Panel: FDA needs more power, funds

US...meet the bathtub fucker.




("My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."
Grover Norquist)

I couldn't help but wonder if Howard Rich is a buddy of his?



Can anything staunch the nausea?

Music anyone?

1. Little Wing - Stevie Ray Vauhan & Double Trouble

2 . Tennessee Plates - John Hiatt

3. The Battle of Evermore - Led Zeppelin

4. I Miss You - Blink 182

5. Mambo DAD LZ

6. Woody And Dutch On the Slow Train to Peking - Rickie Lee Jones

7. DAD LZ Sancti Petri (Rumba)

8. Living It Up - Rickie Lee Jones

9. Pride And Joy - Stevie Ray Vauhan & Double Trouble

10. Tainted Love - Soft Cell

Tainted Love?

Bwwaaaa haaa haaa haaa haaa haaa ha ha ha ha

Analysis: Is bin Laden truly dead?

Analysis: Is bin Laden truly dead?
By CLAUDE SALHANI
UPI International Editor
9/23/2006 9:15:00 AM -0400

Ok. After five years of the Bush Administration's assault on civil liberties in the guise of the "War on Terror" and this speculation that Osama binLaden is dead do I feel any safer?

Not a fucking chance.

My child wants to see Europe. If she gets to go I'll be terrified the whole time that someone will find out that she is an American. She doesn't deserve to be treated in an ugly manner, she is not the typical "Ugly American." She's had to deal with so much grief that she she didn't earn already in her lifetime.

All of the goodwill that America received after helping destroy Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany has been squandered. All of the goodwill that America received after 9/11 has been squandered.

Will The Next Election Be Hacked?

A Call for Dumping Diebold Machines - From a Republican
Eric Kleefeld
TPM Cafe
Septermber 21, 2006

A bit of background for those who are unaware:

20 Amazing facts about voting in the USA


Chuck Hagel SourceWatch


Why Smoke was Coming Out of My Ears
OpEd News September 19, 2006

Hope

Hmmmm. I sat next to the woman who worked for Dukie again yesterday. I was incredibly impressed with her. He may have deserved her at the beginning of his congressional career, but not at the end of it. Washington is way too polluted for someone with his ability to navigate. It seems as though it did not sully her. Whoever hires her will be getting one hell of a good employee. I hope that they deserve her. To her credit, she refused a job working for Bilbray, you know, the one who raised such wonderful children ? She said she wanted to get away from politics.

Tomgram: Robert Lipsyte, America Juiced on Sports

Or, "Why even though I was a competitive athlete I always hated competition."

Or, "Why I never liked jocks."

Princeton hack-a-vote video

Dukie Dookie

Soooo I'm taking this whaddaya-wanna-be-this-time-around class, kind of like whaddaya-wanna-be-when-you-grow up for old farts like me, and people who actually had a real career the first time around, unlike me. Everything is moving along, some people progressing more than me, but I expected that. I've been sitting next to this nice, friendly lady for 3 hours by now I'll have you know. We're all looking for an employment change. She has said that she worked for a congressman for eleven years. So on the way out of the class I get curious and ask which one? "Duke." she says. I say "Dukie?" and she gets this instantly wary look in her eye, meanwhile I have launched into my 'This is why I hate that bastard and you ain't gonna see this on the newz', tirade, because it's how I discovered Francine Busby in 2004. This woman starts in on Busby with "She is not what she seems to be." I fire back with "Oh yeah? I've been in her house and she's the same person there."

Then something struck me as I got in my car and I started laughing. The guy she worked for is in jail and she's acting like it's her job to defend the big pile of dookie from Francine Busby?

Bwwwwaa haaaa haaaa haaaaa hahh hahahahahaha.

Ahem. I've met Francine Busby. Washington needs at least a hundred people like her in order to make a teeny weeny dent in the corruption problems.

Wonder where we'll sit in class tomorrow?

Religion sucks no matter what brand it is.

Pope offends Muslim leaders
Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:20 AM BST





This cracks me up. Why? Because on closer examination of the article it's the radical Muslim leaders that are offended at something the pope quoted that someone else said 600 years ago. And since when aren't the Muslim Brotherhood getting their noses out of joint at something some Westerner said?


Pope fails to allay anger of Muslims
Tensions escalate despite apology
By FRANCES D'EMILIO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
9/18/2006

Click to view larger picture
Associated PressSister Leonella, shown in a family snapshot, was killed Sunday in Somalia.
VATICAN CITY - Anger and violence over Pope Benedict XVI's remarks on Islam continued unabated Sunday, even as the pontiff said personally he was "deeply sorry" that some Muslims had been offended.
Two churches were set on fire in the West Bank..., raising to at least seven the number of church attacks in Palestinian areas over the weekend blamed on outrage sparked by the speech.
Concern also arose that the furor was behind the shooting death of an Italian missionary nun at the hospital where she worked for years in the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia.
Pistol-wielding attackers shot Sister Leonella, 65, four times in the back as she left the Austrian-run S.O.S. hospital. Her bodyguard was also slain....

Ok, soooooooo... the Pope pissed off a bunch of Muslims by quoting something from the fourteenth century that said that Islam has a few problems with violence.

You know? I have less and less use for organized religion every day. It is an irritant to me.

Henry Kissinger

Kissinger warns of possible "war of civilizations"

This power-hungry, old, rotten-to-the-core bastard doesen't know how to sell anything but war.

Check it out:

Video: The Trials of Henry Kissinger: The Making Of A War Criminal:
"A fascinating, bombshell documentary that should shame Americans, regardless of whether or not ultimate blame finally lies with Kissinger. Should be required viewing for civics classes and would-be public servants alike." -- Brent Simon, Entertainment Today.

from Information Clearinghouse

pbs NOW tonight's show Blog the Vote

About the Show[Streaming video for this program will be available online after broadcast]

» -->Left-leaning political bloggers - people who share their opinions through online journals - are determined to demonstrate their real world influence in the upcoming mid-term elections. But will they finally make political headway, or just more hype?NOW visited one of the blogosphere's biggest events, the YearlyKos convention in Las Vegas, to see if the bloggers can turn their online advocacy into on-the-ground results. One of the bloggers' favorite national candidates is Montana Democrat Jon Tester, who's now locked in a close race for the US Senate seat held by Republican Conrad Burns. But how much of a role did bloggers play in Tester's initial success? Will they be able to push him on to victory in November?Now also visited with Montana blogger Jay Stevens, who's doing his best locally to help Tester. "I'm a middle-aged guy with two kids, a mortgage, and a car. I think that's what most bloggers are like," says Stevens. He rejects the stereotype that bloggers are a bunch of radical, left-wing crazies. "The question shouldn't be, 'Why are there so many radical bloggers?' The question really should be 'Why are there so many angry people blogging?'"NOW also talks to Markos Moulitsas, founder of DailyKos, one of the Internet's biggest and most influential political blog sites. "You have a couple million people reading liberal blogs...and they're looking for ways to get involved. And they're looking for ways to participate and take hold of their own democracy. And that is powerful," says Moulitsas."What's important, if this movement is to succeed, is for the people who are reading DailyKos and other blogs to then turn off their computers and go talk to people off-line. And that's where the 'preach to the choir' part ends."Find blogs in your state:Progressive/Liberal Blogs, state by state:Progressive State BlogsConservative Blogs, state by state
Web Extras: About the Show Perspectives: Huffington and Sullivan on Political Blogging Interior Official Slams Agency

Heh, it works for the little guy sometimes, whaddaya know?

Remember this?

Evidence ruled sufficient in penis pump case
News Archive
August 24, 2006

'Bomb Whisperer' Case Dropped
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2006


Man, I just love it when the justice system works. I really do. I'm not being facetious.

cell phone hell

War, Murder, Rape... All for Your Cell Phone
By Stan Cox, AlterNet. Posted September 14, 2006.

Everyone's heard about the human rights abuses in African gold and diamond mines. But when it comes to their ultra-cool, razor-thin cell phones, American consumers won't get the message.

No Shit?

Way ahead of you, dudes. I don't own a cell phone. I'd like to say it's because I know about the human rights abuses, and in fact that may be part of it. Since I'm not giving up my computer, that's probably not it. One reason I don't want a cell phone is because I have a hard enough time driving without that distraction. I don't want to be one of those idiots that I scream at when they're not paying attention to the road because they are on the phone. I also see a lot of people foregoing what might have been real live face-to-face interactions with strangers. Sometimes those little interactions are learning experiences, or a shared laugh. I do not consider them an intrusion. I sometimes feel like I am intruding into someone's private life when they are having a conversation on their cell in a public place. Frankly, cell phones annoy me. It also annoys me that the pager I had for 10 years became obsolete when I discovered that it's nearly impossible to find a working pay phone. People are startled when I say I don't have a cell. I may end up getting one, but that doesn't mean I want one. I don't want to be in cell phone hell. I like walks on the beach with my friend. Neither one of us has a cell phone, and sometimes it's quiet, unless someone else is screaming "Can you hear me now?" When that happens my friend and I smirk and I know he's thinking the same thing I am: Oh fuck, you idiot, the whole fucking world can hear you now.

We ain't talking to the whole world, though, are we?

Guatemala

One of the people I grew up with here in San Diego married a Guatemalan and lives in Guatemala, so initially I was turned off to the goofy cartoon on the cover and irritated by the seemingly arrogant title of the article.

The article is good. It's humane and caring, and neither pro-immigration, nor anti-immigration.
Guatemalan Dreams of American Green
By Geoff Bouvier

I didn't know

that bounty hunting was a crime in Mexico.

Did you?