Prediction: George Allen Concedes Today.

GOP is pressuring Allen to face the facts and step aside. This will return the Senate to Democratic control. Now with that said, let's hope Allen reeally follows through and gives up. His opponent has a 7000+ margin and recounts in Virginia have traditionally been unproductive.

Now if we can just do something about that pesky guy in the White House....send him packing.

UPDATE: MSNBC now says Allen will concede at 3:00pm Eastern time. Looks llike I called this one correct. Now if my hunch that Karl Rove will soon step down to spend more time with his family is correct I will start a new career as a pundit.

Hastert Steps Down, Too!

It feels like an early Christmas! Denis Hastert has said he will step down as well! And he will not seek reelection. Even better!

Rummy Bails Out! Bush Lied Again!

OK, now I really am dancing the Schadenfreude Polka! Rummy has resigned, after Bush assuring us last week that Don Rumsfeld was going to be around another 2 years. Guess whenever Bush says anything it’s a bald-faced lie.

Wonder when he is going to say that he intends to serve out his full term? That would mean he is boarding a plane to Paraguay any minute. Oh, if that wish could come true! But for now, the tie in the Senate and the promising recount in Virginia will have to do.

Personally, I can’t wait for Nancy Pelosi to be sworn in as Speaker of the House! America has spoken, and the message was a big raspberry to Bush and company.

Republicans Loose The House - Bipartisan Government Returns!

Well after dancing for a few minutes last night, I have settled in to watch the lawyers figure out the recounts to decide the senate, either way he people have spoken with a pretty resounding voice. "Enough is Enough!"

Bush awakens to a lame duck presidency and all his dirty tricks and propaganda amount to nothing now. It will be a pleasure to see congress actually deliberate over issues and perhaps a real system of checks and balances will return. Dems picked up more than enough seats in the House to win control and the senate is way too close to call, yet.

Governors are trending blue as well. Democrats took posts from Republicans in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Arkansas and Colorado. In fact for the first time in quite a few years Democrats hold more gubernatorial seats than Republicans do.

Now some real investigations can begin to the corruption of the GOP and the congress can get down to real business and get us out of the mess in Iraq. Impeachment? I doubt it, but some selective prosecutions for crimes would be in order for quite a few folks. Otherwise, reconciliation will work better toward getting the country back in good health.

Waterboarding Torture Demonstrated On Fox News

So as many readers of this blog know I am a member of the Leather/BDSM community. Yea, the "whips and chains" crowd to those unfamiliar with it. Here’s the distinction, what we do in our homes and playrooms is consensual and never intended to do permanent damage to anyone either psychologically or physically. We play by the guidelines of "safe, sane and consensual". That said…

Fox News recently had one of their reporters endure a "waterboarding" to show just what it is. I assume it was designed to show that it was not so bad and wasn’t torture. Guess what? It is! I found I couldn’t watch the activity. It was unsafe, even with the three helpers and it is immoral. Whatever you call it, it is drowning.

The reporter was clearly being handled with kid gloves, and I am sure our detainees are being treated much more intensely. The problems? First the possibility of getting water in the lungs is almost assured if this isn’t done carefully. That leads to pneumonia and can be fatal. The extreme state of panic induced by drowning clearly falls into the cruel punishment category and should not be tolerated by a civilized society.

In truth put in such a circumstance, I would tell whatever lie necessary to get them to stop. So much for getting reliable information from the prisoner!

This has to stop and the people involved need to be brought to trial. After all, we tried and convicted Japanese soldiers after WW2 for this activity and called it War Crimes then. It still is and those responsible for it and its endorsement must be made accountable.

Saddam Calls For Peace And Reconciliation - What?

First off, I think the death penalty is wrong and immoral. That said, today Saddam Hussein appeared in court and made a statement that was amazing. He said, "I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands…". He invoked the names of both the Prophet Mohammed and Jesus in his statements.

Perhaps the world has shifted on its axis, but apparently faced with the finality of his sentence, Saddam had an epiphany. Too bad the Iraqi court didn’t have one and decided to hang him. I would urge them to look at how South Africa resolved the problems after apartheid. Councils of reconciliation make more sense than vengeance. But, that was South Africa and this is the Middle East.

Seems reconciliation is anathema to Middle Easterners, no matter what their ethnicity or religion. I wonder if it isn’t in the water. Perhaps hey have been drinking from the Dead Sea. Maybe they should try a sip from the water of the Jordan. I seem to remember that just getting doused with it could change people’s lives.

More Illegal GOP Voting Scams Turning Up

GOP dirty trick spread! Now there are voters getting bogus calls telling them they will be arrested if they vote. This is a further expansion of the illegal activity in New Hampshire that brought quick action by the state.

Ken Melman, Karl Rove and the other GOP criminals need to be arrested and tried for trying to defraud the public in this election. If you receive any suspicious calls, telling you to vote in a different place, that you cannot vote or claiming to have information that could prevent you from voting, call your county election officials immediately.

GOP Placing Harrassing Phone Calls To Dem Voters

So just when I thought there were no more Republican dirty tricks this show up and this time it’s a clear violation of the law.

Republican operatives have started placing automated phone calls to Democratic voters posing as Democratic candidates. These call repeat again and again all night long in some cases to piss the voter off enough that they will either not vote or vote Republican.

THIS IS A TRICK, and if you have gotten these calls disregard them they are a scam.

Check out this story on Americablog and see what is going on.

CNN Shows Ease Of Hacking Diebold Machines - Demand Paper Ballots Tuesday!

Demand paper ballots at the polls his Tuesday. If they refuse, call your local TV news crew or the paper and stay until they arrive.

Why so adamant about it? Well check out the story that ran on CNN Friday about the Diebold machines. The actually hacked a machine in just 2 minutes and showed how the election can be stolen with no paper trail. Voting officials are given machines to take home with them before elections because counties have no money for delivery and secure storage of the machines. What the heck is going on?

The story is so amazingly bad that Lou Dobbs just shook his head after hearing it on CNN.

DO NOT VOTE WITH AN ELECTRONIC MACHINE, DEMAND PAPER BALLOTS! IT IS OBVIOUS THAT PEOPLE CAN STEAL THIS ELECTION AND NEVER BE CAUGHT.

US Tries To Bar Prisoners From Discussing Torture

OK, here’s the logic:

I torture you even though it’s illegal.

Then I pass a law that says you can’t have a civilian attorney.

Then I pass a law that says you can’t tell anyone I tortured you.

Now I can torture you and continue to lie that I don’t torture.

Crazy? Nope that’s just what Bush wants to do and it’s so out of the park when it comes to constitutional infractions that it’s laughable. That is if people were not being tortured.

The courts under Bush pressure may rule that revealing techniques used to interrogate prisoners is a breach of national security. What the f$*k is happening in this country? That kind of stuff is right out of Orwell and we can’t allow it to continue. More and more we are moving to the status of "rogue state" and before long we will end up on Amnesty International’s top 10 list. That means we will have become a nation that ranks right up there with North Korea.

Already a poll of people in the UK shows that they fear George Bush more than Kim Jung-Il.

We must stop this juggernaut and get America back to being the bastion of freedom it once was. Vote these bastards out on Tuesday and lets take back our country from the criminals who control it.

Military Newspaper Says Rummy Must Go

So now even the Military Times newspaper is saying Don Rumsfeld should get the boot. I have to wonder when Mr. Bush will start listening and stop denying the reality of the situation. The military is in disarray because the top leader is a liar and failed to plan for the future. Rumsfeld is part of the Bush Cabal, and as such he will be difficult to dislodge, but the truth is he is part of the problem and needs to go.

The other part of the problem is Dick Cheney and George Bush, but dislodging them will have to wait until after the mid-term elections.

Had enough, vote Democratic.

"Tempting Faith" A Revelation And A Great Read

David Kuo, formerly of the Faith Based and Community initiatives office in the White House has written a book that had the media chattering a few weeks ago about how the Bush White House referred to the Evangelical Religious Right as the "nuts". Additional colorful terms were used to describe the far right base that helped elect Bush, but I will forgo those here.

In his interviews, David repeatedly said the book was a story of his faith journey, and after reading it I agree. It is a story of one man’s journey into faith, politics and finally into a kind of epiphany about the politics of Washington and how the Bush White House in particular uses people for it’s own purposes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found elements of my own faith journey in it. The exception is hat mine was as a gay man and David’s is not. His time as speechwriter for the neocons and policy wonk is fascinating stuff, and though you may or may not be a Christian, it will give you a lot of insight.

In the end David has a recommendation for the Religious Right and I heartily agree. Fasting. Fasting from politics for a couple of years and getting back to the work of Jesus. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick. You know, the stuff Jesus talks about ad nauseum? Funny how the word Christian has become identified with intolerance, greed and politics. Like Mr. Kuo, I have to wonder how the faithful could have strayed so far from the way.

GOP Get Money From Bareback Gay Porn!

I believe it was Jesus who called the Pharisees a "brood of vipers". He was referring to their hypocrisy in flaunting their piousness but actually being far less than holy men.

With all the scandals coming out about the GOP in recent weeks and the latest whopper involving Ted Haggard, the Colorado Evangelical caught with his pants down, what's next?

Surprise, ABC news reports that the Republican National Committee has been accepting money from a prominent gay porn producer. These are the same "vipers" who want to convince us they are against porn and are pure as driven snow. Family Values voters must be shaking their heads and wondering what is going on.

Here's what's going on, the Republicans are playing the religious right like a violin. They have been using and abusing the Evangelical vote for years and finally it's coming home to roost.
The press has woken from their 9/11 induced slumber and its a feeding frenzy with all the hot topics popping up.

Not only are the GOP getting funds from Gay Porn, but it's "bareback" or unsafe sex porn at that featuring military men! Jeff Gannon was only the tip of the iceberg. The GOP is apparently a nest of self-hating, internalized homophobes who have been hiding in the closet. Well guys, come out and shake off that secrecy. It's the 21st century and being gay or lesbian is mainstream. You can be gay and have a good life, go to church and be happy. Really! Get over this GOP denial crap and start living in the light.. and by the way, vote Democratic. The Democrats support being out of the closet.

Evangelical Leader Peeks Out Of Gay Closet.

And so truth starts to peek out of the dark closet of Rev. Ted Haggard. He admits to "some" of the charges. He has been accused of patronizing a gay hustler and using Crystal Meth. Great stuff for a "Man of God".

The sad thing is that the whole problem is his being in the closet to begin with. Had he lived his life openly and honestly, there would be no scandal. I suspect the drug use flowed from the self-hatred that kept him in the closet in the first place.

Time for gay Christians to come out and live openly. It is not only possible to be a gay or lesbian Christian but rewarding. Why take God’s gift of your sexuality and hide it under a basket? (or a closet)

Maybe he should try looking into any of the welcoming and affirming churches, like the MCC or United Church of Christ. He could start by checking my church out.

Rev. Haggard Finds Comfort In The Arms Of A Gay Hustler?

"Oh Lord, deliver us from the closet. For in that darkness the true evil of self hatred and internalized homophobia dwell. Help us to come out, in to the light of truth and the fullness of your grace."

At least that is the prayer Ted Haggard should be praying right now. Seems Rev. Haggard may have been patronizing a Gay hustler who leaked the story to the press. (A charge Haggard denies.) Well another GOP closet case is exposed and all I can say is, have mercy on them. Don't vote for them, but have mercy.

Haggard, whose church décor sounds more like a very exclusive gay bath house has a nation-wide ministry that opposes gay rights and gay marriage. Wasn’t there something about removing a log from your eye before removing the mote from…?

Bush Building Internment Camps In US. Are You Ready For Change Now?

Bush and his Reich are now working to build detainment camps in the US. Fiction? Nope, the sad truth is that the unprecedented Military Commissions Act which remove our traditional right of Habeas Corpus also provides for camps to be built on US soil to hold basically whoever Bush deems an enemy. No evidence needed, no right to appeal, nada, ZIP!

If that doesn’t scare the living s%$t out of you I don’t know what will. Take to the polls, and if you are not given a paper ballot, protest and call the media. Do not let these thugs take over our freedoms. They already are running us toward totalitarianism, and full dictatorship is not far behind.

UPDATE: Check this out about Halliburton building the camps as we speak.

America Near Bottom Of Scale On Privacy

Ah America, the greatest country in the world! We value our freedom, our free press, our standard of living and our privacy. Well , if you read my previous posts you know that free press thing and standard of living are myths. We rank lower than most of the European countries on both, and now there is the privacy issue.

Well looks like we are not number 1 at that either. In fact we are close to the bottom, right along with China, Russia and the UK (camera country). It’s time we stopped believing the myths and started doing something to make our country better. Time to take back our democracy from the companies and politicians who have sold it off to the highest bidder.

Had Enough? Vote Democratic.

Diebold Machines Rigged Again! Fight Back!

Watch the HBO Documentary on voting tonight. It unfortunately is too little too late, because the vote fraud is already afoot. Diebold machines in Dallas have started vote hopping, in other words you pick a Democrat and they show a Republican.

Here is a letter from a voter who had her vote jump from Libertarian to Republican on her machine. Enough is enough. It’s pitchforks and torches time folks. We have to stop this crap and assure real accurate voting. DEMAND A PAPER BALLOT at you polling place. If they won’t give it to you call the press and get them there ASAP. The Republicans and their big business flunkies are going to try to steal this election and hey have to be caught red handed.

Carry your cell phone and call if you see irregularities.

Ann Coulter May Face Prosecution For Voting Fraud

Everyone's favorite right-wing harpie may be facing a few years in prison if she does not cooperate with Palm Beach County's elections officials. It's a developing story and bears watching.

Mac Vs PC Or Was That Democrat Vs GOP?

The web had spawned a lot of creative folks who are using viral-TV to get political messages out. This one created and written by John Kramer, Directed by Jeff Hadick, Produced by Shannon O'Neil, is a great example. Pass it on.