Blogroll Amnesty Days

This BAD thing is fun. I've been moving outside of my comfort zone and have rediscovered blogs that I used to read a long time ago , but thought they had completely quit. I've also been checking out what other bloggers have found and proudly posted. I've added Jon Swift and Blue Gal, because frankly, they have some great stuff on their blogs.

Blogrolling is still doofed up, So I'll have to change the blogroll slowly, one by one. I don't have a humongus blogroll because I try to check every one at least twice a week, maybe less if you blog less, maybe more if you blog more. Maybe I'll change the blogrolls around a bit. There are so many blogs I've never visited before, heh, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Here's my six picks again.

Ob Rag Blog
Freaks, Uppity Women and Politicos

(I was born in OB, heh)

Indigenous Nudity
A frank commentary of American politics, personal finance and culture.

One Sided War
gods are mean but people are worse

Oh Well: A Commentary on News and Politics
This is a blog examining the political, social and economic issues from my own irrelevant perspective. When examining some of these issues, I just have to shake my head and say, "Oh well. Whatever happens, happens."

San Diego Politico
News, commentary and opinion dedicated to advancing a Progressive Political and Social agenda here in San Diego County.

The Rational Realist
Opinions and insights on alternative investments with a focus on real estate securities.

Angry Renter.com
Renters and responsible homeowners against a government mortgage bailout

Celebrating Blogroll Amnesty Days (BAD)

These are blogs that I discovered recently and I enjoy. I found a couple of local gems.

Ob Rag Blog
Freaks, Uppity Women and Politicos

(I was born in OB, heh)

Indigenous Nudity
A frank commentary of American politics, personal finance and culture.

One Sided War
gods are mean but people are worse

Oh Well: A Commentary on News and Politics
This is a blog examining the political, social and economic issues from my own irrelevant perspective. When examining some of these issues, I just have to shake my head and say, "Oh well. Whatever happens, happens."

San Diego Politico
News, commentary and opinion dedicated to advancing a Progressive Political and Social agenda here in San Diego County.

The Rational Realist
Opinions and insights on alternative investments with a focus on real estate securities.

Angry Renter.com
Renters and responsible homeowners against a government mortgage bailout

NOW and Bill Moyers

NOW

and Bill Moyers

Pierre Sprey and Marilyn Young

Vartan Gregorian

A History of Aerial Bombing

I got nuthin' today. Not even a squirrel pic. Sorry.

I knew somebody was going to pick up on this one when I read it yesterday.

It's a real bummer. Especially as it coincides with reports about the increasing. troop suicides . Watching CSPAN is sometimes frustrating.

Here's a question. How come they never counted troop suicides till the 1980's? And how much of it is the war, and how much is the economy. Don't tell me service members don't have family members who have lost jobs in this economy.

The Financial Crisis Is Driving Hordes of Americans to Suicide
By Nick Turse, Tomdispatch.com. Posted January 29, 2009.

The depression has begun. Amy Goodman talks to William Greider about it today This bullshit ain't going away and I know why it's happening AND why those who really can do something about it, won't. I have a theory anyway, but I could be wrong. I sure hope I'm wrong.


Christ Almighty, Abu Dhabi has it figured out, WTF is wrong with us?

Oh look, it's a right wing weenie roast

ABC & CBS Chide Republicans for 'Turning Cold Shoulder' to Obama


They don't know what a mandate IS.

Mr. President, please tell them, and thank you :)

Covington’s White Collar Unit Depleted by Exodus to Justice

23 Corporate Crime Reporter 5, January 27, 2009

Woooooooooot!

Trying to find bloggers for BAD

Obviously I've gotten a bit loopy.

Reading Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet

The New Geopolitics of Energy
by Michael T. Klare

I'm finished with The Way of the World by Ron Suskind.

Frankly, one of the things that struck me was that it was a legal filing from military lawyer who happend to be a Holocaust survivor's child that started the ball rolling that led to Obama's order to close Gitmo.

World Celebrates Inaugural of Barack Obama as 44th President

Published Jan 20, 2009, by ■ Carol Forsloff

As an American this kind of blows me away. I knew that Americans would celebrate, but the world?

Wow.

Gaza tunnels resume smuggling

Gah.

Za.

Russia ready to cooperate with US on Afghanistan

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow is ready to help U.S. efforts in Afghanistan by allowing the Americans to ship cargo intended for coalition forces across Russian territory.

Medvedev says that Russia also is ready to help international efforts to combat drug-trafficking and terrorism.

He spoke in televised comments during Friday's visit to Uzbekistan, a central Asian nation bordering Afghanistan.

Medvedev expressed hope that President Barack Obama's administration will be more successful in stabilizing Afghanistan than its predecessors.

Medvedev's comments appeared to reflect the Kremlin's hope of mending relations with Washington following a breakdown in ties under former President George W. Bush.

2009-01-23 13:28:07 GMT

Afghanistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...Afghans display pride in their religion, country, ancestry, and above all, their independence. Like other highlanders, Afghans are regarded with mingled apprehension and condescension, for their high regard for personal honor, for their clan loyalty and for their readiness to carry and use arms to settle disputes.[63] As clan warfare and internecine feuding has been one of their chief occupations since time immemorial, this individualistic trait has made it difficult for foreign invaders to hold the region...

Why are those in power so fucking stupid?

Update 9:23 PM 1/30/2009
Hmmmm. Looks like these people have another angle on the same problem.
Bill Moyers interview

David Sirota on Bill Moyers Journal

The kid is seriously easy on the eyes. The fact that he's such a smart, progressive political strategist and journalist doesn't hurt.

I'm not embarrassed by my President any more

In fact, I'm pretty darn proud.

Obama to reverse 'global gag rule' on family planning organisations
Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 January 2009 16.23 GMT
Article history
...The rule change "would be huge," California Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado told National Public Radio. "By the US restricting women's rights to reproductive planning internationally, it really destroys their lives. Because they can't control the size of their family, that affects their use of resources and food and child nutrition and so many other things. The way to increase the stability in Third World countries, frankly, is for sensible family planning."


Obama Reaches Out to the Muslim World
Not only was Obama the first President to mention the word "Muslim" in an inauguration speech, he did it with his hand out instead of with his fist clenched (to borrow a Presidential phrase).

Appointing Emissaries, Obama and Clinton Stress Diplomacy
...Mr. Mitchell, a former Senate majority leader, helped broker a peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Mr. Holbrooke, a longtime diplomat who was the American ambassador to the United Nations, played a central role in drafting the 1995 Dayton peace accords, which ended the war in Bosnia...

Obama's stimulus proposal advances in Congress
The bill moves forward in the House over Republican efforts seeking deeper tax cuts.
Associated Press
January 23, 2009
Washington -- Amid grim new evidence of economic weakness, legislation at the heart of President Obama's recovery plan advanced in Congress on Thursday over the persistent opposition of Republicans seeking deeper tax cuts.


Senate passes wage discrimination bill
By JIM ABRAMS – 17 hours ago
...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted that "the first bill that President Obama will sign will be this piece of legislation." He said the bill would send an important message because "this administration stands for equality and fairness."

Obama strongly backs the measure and invited Lilly Ledbetter, the retired Alabama tire company worker whose lawsuit inspired the legislation, to accompany him on the train trip bringing him to Washington for the inauguration...

The Freedom of Information Act is Back
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
By Barack ObamaPresident of the United States
January 21, 2009

I did not know I could cry so many happy tears. I've noticed an uptick in hits on my blog from other countries. It's nice to not feel like a pariah simply because I'm an American.

Do I credit my new President?

Yes I do.



Here's the squirrel pic, they're out today.

TV interlude

Whoa, that was quick. Some right to lifer talking about abortions and then a shoulda been an abortion on Dr. Phil. (mAnn Coulter).

'Scuse me while I go scrub my eyeballs and ear canals.

Thank heaven for bloggers. This just made me giggle:

"Bush: booed by 2 million, buoyed by 2 networks. And they wonder where blogging came from.
SS"

Obama Directs C.I.A. to Shut Guantánamo

By MARK MAZZETTI and WILLIAM GLABERSON
Published: January 21, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Obama signed executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year, government officials said.

Good news regarding the US government? Oh My, I hardly know how to react to this, it's been so damned long.

My congressman is a dickhead

Recent House Votes

Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Vote Passed (289-139, 6 Not Voting)The House passed this bill to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover an estimated total of 11 million children.

Rep. Brian Bilbray voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

I'm confused

It's a new era. Why are us liberal bloggers still trying to highlight the idiocy of right-wing pundits?

Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh should be allowed to slide into irrelevancy, slowly, painfully, and endlessly.

No more fighting with these turds.

No more extra media coverage for their over-inflated egos.

No more shining a light on their hate.

Who takes these fucktards seriously?

Seriously?

I mean, really, is it a majority of people in the US, or some whiny, spoiled ass bitches who pay these whores to spew elitist hatred for the masses?

Fuck 'em, the masses have spoken.


Of Al Gore's Presidency Denied, Eight Years of Illegitimacy, and the Triumph of Meritocracy over Corrupt Entitlement -- A BuzzFlash Editor's Blog by Mark Karlin
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Channel surfing the inauguration

I thought:

"If I hear one more teevee pundit fawn over something grand that Ronald Reagan said I'm gonna puke!"

Then I thought "It's exciting to have two little girls in the White House."

Are these girls cute or what?



We Win!: The Inaugural Celebration Caps a Victory in the Political Cultural War
Mojo blog (Mother Jones)

...Before hopping on that train, Obama proclaimed, "People who love this country can change it."

That is the opposite of the old slogan used by the right when the political culture war began: "America, love it or leave it." No, the protesters of that time countered, America, make it better...

(gay Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson says some really great stuff in the embedded link)

Obama Inauguration Celebrities: The List

hat tip to skippy

Israel continues hanging itself

Israel to keep tight grip on Gaza reconstruction
Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:45am EST

I forced myself to read the articles linked to this one yesterday. I was bleary eyed by nightfall. I was sad also, that democracies like the US and Israel have become as ugly in their behavior as the ugliest, most vicious dictatorships.

I'm not sure that whoever is running PR for Israel knows that it's impossible to control the message these days. There's just too much technology available for very little money. The real story is going to leak out.

Watching HBO webcam on the mall in DC, listening to the speeches.

I was there

Just not for this show.

Reading

I'm still slogging through "The Way of the World" by Ron Suskind. I'm only half-way through it.

Israel and Palestine, quit sucking the whole world into your sandbox filled with quicksand

* Israel announces unilateral ceasefire

Nonetheless, rockets landed in Israel even minutes before he spoke and Hamas leaders said they would continue to fight for an end to Israel's closure of much of Gaza's trade and a withdrawal of the Israeli forces from their territory.


Religion Sucks.

Hmmm, just as I posted that, iTunes decided I needed to be listening to Rage Against The Machine: Settle For Nothing

"...a world of violent rage, but it's one that I can recognize..."

Power Struggle

Week of 1.16.09

This guy says the CPUC keeps SDG&E in line.

Yeah right, was he with the company when we got fucked by Enron ?

Where the fuck was the CPUC then?

Because I love this video and my friend is visiting me today

Gotta smile and laugh sometimes, eh?

Umm, and dance :)

Update 2:24 PM 1/16/2009 the video makes me smile, and this headline cracked me up. UPS Delivers 30-Pound Marijuana Brick To Wrong Address January 15, 2009 03:56 PM EST

UPS name change to OOPS is in order perhaps?

Frontline, Dreams of Obama

watching online now, and reading this, and my glasses still suck. I'm getting my eyes re-examined next week to see what the problem is since I just paid 500 bucks for a pair of glasses, (and the frames were cheap and ugly) and can't fucking drive with them on. Yeesh, this getting older stuff sucks.

Ho-leeee crap, we know wer'e in deep shit when Google lays off people.

And speaking of holy crap, this is too much. You just don't shell the UN. I've been trying to avoid the Gaza mess because frankly, I'm starting to hate both side of that fucking mess. Mostly because they suck the whole world into their mess and I'm sick of it.

Shelling the UN is bullshit and this is bullshit:

French Muslim Soldiers Refuse Afghanistan Mission
Thursday January 15th, 2009 / 11h32

hat tip to Islam in Europe

Religion sucks #16

and ties up the courts in stupid ways.

By LINDA COADY, ESQ., Andrews Publications Staff Writer

A federal appeals court has ruled that DNA sampling does not violate an evangelical Christian prisoner's religious rights under the U.S. Constitution or federal law...

...Kaemmerling was convicted of conspiring to commit wire fraud, a felony offense, and is serving time in a federal prison in Texas...

...Even if Kaemmerling had alleged a substantial burden on his exercise of religion, the panel said, his complaint still would fail to state a claim for relief because the burden is "in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest," that is, preventing and solving crimes...

This idiot is an evangelical Christian from Texas.

'nuff said.

Bradblog reader, cracks me up :)

The following email invitation arrived today, from reader "Karen"...
Blogged by Brad Friedman on 1/10/2009 12:07PM
Invitation to Pre-Inauguration Opening of The George W. Bush Presidential Library...


Missed this a couple of days ago, it's funny thanks "Karen."

In Foreign Policy, a New Trio at the Top

With Hearing Today, Clinton, Kerry and Obama Begin to Realign Their Roles

By Anne E. Kornblut and Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 13, 2009; A01

FACTBOX- Quotes from Hillary Clinton confirmation hearing
Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:29pm GMT

Here are some of her quotes on key topics:

IRAN

"We will pursue a new, perhaps different approach. What we have tried has not worked.

"No option is off the table."

"We will do everything we can pursue through diplomacy, through the use of sanctions, through creating better coalitions with countries that we believe also have a big stake in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon power."

"We have no illusions, Mr. Chairman, that even with a new administration looking to try to engage Iran in a way that might influence its behaviour, that we can predict the results. But the president-elect is committed to that course and we will pursue it."

Obama team takes new tack on Iran amid Mideast peace push
2 hours ago

The outgoing administration of President George W. Bush refused to engage in direct negotiations with Iran unless it first stops enriching uranium, material which Washington fears could be used to build an atomic bomb.

"The incoming administration views with great concern ... Iran's sponsorship of terrorism, its continuing interference with the functioning of other governments, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons," she said.

Along with Syria, Iran backs the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip -- which is being pounded by the Israeli army in an 18-day military offensive -- as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, which fought a similar war with Israel in 2006.

Washington also accuses Iran of meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan...

...She called for a "strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians."

Clinton hoped it "effectively challenges Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and its sponsorship of terror."

She said the new strategy also could "persuade both Iran and Syria to abandon their dangerous behavior and become constructive regional actors."

politickybitch sez The Palestinian/Israeli football game that sucks the whole world in to play is mighty tiresome.

Mighty tiresome.

John Cusack asks two questions

MMMMhmm, what I would pay attention to if I gave a crap today. I'm too tired to care what's going on right this instant with No Se Nada Torquemada 's replacement.

Batter up.

Update 7:29 PM 1/12/2009 : Keeeeeee-rap, here we go again. I want to read my favorite blogs and there goes blogrolling on the fritz again. Yeesh. Well, if I post 'em, at least I can get to them easily---

Blue Girl, Red State
Badtux the Snarky Penguin
Constantly Amazed, Yet Never Surprised
Outta the Cornfield
Jonestown
Guys from Area5 1
Welcome Back to Pottersville
Scoobie Davis Online
Ketchup is a Vegetable
ROTUS
Ornery Bastard
Alternate Brain
BlondeSense
johniwanski.com
Dyre Portents
Pooflingers
The Political Cat
skippy the bush kangaroo
They Gave Us A Republic...
The Great Endarkenment
One Pissed Off Veteran
distributorcap NY
The Democratic Daily.com
Monkeyfister
Leftblogistan
WTF is it Now?
INSTAPUTZ
Hullabaloo
The Apostate
The Barefoot Bum


The big kids on the playground that I normally don't link to
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
Feministe - In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set
AMERICA blog
MyDD :: Direct Democracy for People-Powered Politics
Bitch Ph.D.
Oliver Willis
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community
Eschaton
The Daily Dish By Andrew Sullivan
Fire Dog Lake
tbogg


News

Mother Jones
The Nation
Bradblog
TPM
TPM Muckraker
OB Rag
Voice of San Diego.org
San Diego Reader
Crooks and Liars
Think Progress
Huffington Post.com
Alternet.org
NY Times
UK Guardian
LA Times
Washington Post
San Diego Citybeat