Israeli Ambassador Caught In Kinky Wardrobe - Drunk On The Street!

Jews in bondage? Sounds like a bad Mel Brooks parody, but it’s apparently true. The Israeli Ambassador to El Salvador was found dressed only in leather bondage gear wandering the streets blind drunk. Personally I have nothing against bondage, which should be obvious to anyone who knows me, but taking it out in public does cross the consensual space line.

The Israeli government is not amused and has recalled him. I wonder if he has a leather yarmulke?

McCain's Weird TV Ad - What Were They Thinking?

This has got to be the worst campaign ad ever. McCain making a bunch of disjointed statements over some music that could be Darth Vader's theme from Empire Strikes Back. What the heck were his spin-meisters thinking? Just found the music, it's from Pirates of the Caribbean, the Black Pearl. Now that is what you want to be associated with, pirates! I thought that was what we already had in the White House?

Halliburton Escapes To Dubai - Watch For Cheney To Follow Soon

A few months ago I made a prediction and I stand by it. Within the next 2 months Dick Cheney will step down as VP for "health" reasons. Afterwards, Condi Rice will be made Vice President and have a secure seat for an incumbent run in 2008.

Cheney’s clot in his leg a couple of weeks ago is the start of the cover story. The rest will play out as follows. Cheney will step down just prior to investigations by Congress into illegal activities by the administration. He will move out of the country just in time to escape embarrassing prosecution and questions. Bush will follow as soon as he is impeached. OK hat last bit is wishful thinking.

It should come as no surprise that Cheney’s former company has pulled up stakes and moved to Dubai. That surprising announcement caught everyone but me by surprise. Of course, and Cheney will have unfettered access to his stock and fortune since the company will be trading on a foreign exchange.

Sound far-fetched? Not really, remember Bush buying all that land in Paraguay? A get away after he is impeached or perhaps before he is convicted of criminal charges. Same goes for Dick Cheney. Halliburton has looted the coffers of our treasury with bogus no-bid contracts and shoddy quality work and now they are running away before they are found guilty of a crime. With congress in control of Democrats, they have little chance of continuing their crime spree and a move to Dubai; a country built by and for billionaires makes sense for them.

For us, we need to move quickly to seize Halliburton’s assets in the US before they can make a clean getaway. Write your Congressperson.

Ann Coulter Dropped From More Newspapers

Seems like Ann "Mad Dog" Coulter is going the way of Dr. Laura. After her tasteless comment about John Edwards, the public has been demanding she be removed from print. So far 6 newspapers have dropped her column in response to the heavy load of emails against her.

Truth is she is carried by very few publications anyway and most of them are in small markets. Here in Texas none of the really big cities carry her writing, you have to get to towns like Waco to find her in print.

Bye bye, Ann, it's been bad to know you.

Newt Gingrich Had Affair While Impeachnig Clinton For His

Of all the slimy hypocritical bastards, Newt Gingrich is the slimiest. In an interview with Focus on the Family he admitted he had an affair, even while he was spearheading the impeachment proceeding against Bill Clinton for his lying about this own affair.

Now come on! If this country can’t see the problem with this, there is no hope. We have a sitting President who has lied to Congress and the American people about a war we didn’t need to start. A President whose office intentionally leaked the name of a covert CIA operative, a treasonable offense. A President who has a history of drug and alcohol abuse. Yet, no impeachment? Come on people! Wake the f*#k up!

Our country is being run by hypocritical criminals and we have to take it back. Write your congressperson and demand investigations and legal action before it’s too late.

Matt Sanchez, GOP Marine Poster Boy - Gay Porn Star!

Anybody remember Jeff Gannon? Well it seems that the specter of him has appeared again in the form of the Marine Corporal, Matt Sanchez. The reservist is making the rounds on the right wing talk show circuit. He even appeared with Ann Coulter at the CPAC event that caused all the uproar with her "faggot" comment.

What's so special about a conservative Marine? Well he has a lengthy resume as Rod Majors, porn star! Yup, another GOP poster boy who has a past of money shots and escort services.
He is cute, no question about it, and from the pictures I have seen, his body is quite a sight as well. No wonder he gets $1200 a day.

"Slave" Turns On "Master" In NY Courtroom

Sometimes I wish there was some sort of registration process for people in our community. It seems every Tom, Dick and Harry who wants to can just tape on a "Master" tag and claim to be involved in safe sane and consensual BDSM activity. My case in point is a guy named Glenn Marcus from Brooklyn. He gets a couple of women as his "slaves" over the Internet and starts a web site with photos of them in bondage.

Funny thing is, the government sees the pictures and because they are targeting SM related porn, they haul the guy up on charges. His "slaves" turn government witnesses and the whole thing becomes a sideshow for the press and bad press for the rest of us.

Now I have ranted before about how the current administration is out to stop us in general from enjoying our lives but this is a real graphic example. Personally, I don’t think this "Master" has much to go on for defense. He was playing way over the edge by posting the photos online, and it seems to me his motive was profit not mutual enjoyment.

The real problem comes from the fact that one of the slaves says everything was consensual and the other one says it was against her will. Tricky stuff this Master/slave relationship, and one that takes some serious thought before entering into. His defense attorney says he had a contract, but the last time I checked "forced labor" was a crime in most states and that is the charge they brought him up on.

I suspect the reality of the situation is that one slave became jealous and decided to get even by turning states witness. Now the whole matter is playing out in a courtroom and in from of TV cameras and the press is having a field day. The moral of the story? Know who you are playing with, know their motives and never, never post pictures of your scenes on the Internet!

Pain, CBT And Writing About It

I guess it has been too long since I blogged about what I am up to and let the politics settle for a while. At the encouragement of several friends, I am working on another book. My first book, Family Jewels is in its second printing and has been very popular with both the gay and heterosexual kink communities. What I am working on now is a bit different.

Family Jewels was pretty much a how-to guide for CBT. Since its publication I have received many requests to present educational workshops on that subject. Though I am a very enthusiastic player in the CBT area, much of my passion in BDSM lies in a larger subject. The new book has a working title of Playing With Pain and it includes a lot of my personal journey through the world of leather.

I hope to give the reader an idea of not just the how, but the why in this book. For me, the application of intense sensations in a controlled and precise manner has been a passion since childhood. I know, sounds like a warped childhood, but really it was pretty normal. I just discovered my kink early in life. The fact that it only blossomed as an adult is probably a good thing.

So I have been hard at work writing and sometimes avoiding writing for the past weeks. Writing for me is a painful experience in itself. The words don't flow fast enough onto the screen, and I sometimes wish I had a direct interface with my brain and my computer. Of course that would make me Borg wouldn't it? Oh well, give a little and take a little.

More later.

Neocons Already Calling For Pardon Of Scooter Libby - Big Surprise!

Libby is not even in jail yet and already the neocons are calling for his pardon. An editorial appeared in the National Review only 2.5 hours after the verdict was announced.

I suspect the right-wing talk shows will be full of this crap and soon the White House will announce the pardon of Scooter. After all, if they don't pardon him he might finger the real villains in this drama, and everyone including the jurors know it's a higher-up in the White House.

If a pardon does come, America must speak out! Taking to the streets to protest would be a good first move, then demanding that the entire administration step down would be a good second move. There has never been a more corrupt and inept bunch of criminals in the White House.

Scooter Is Guilty!

MSNBC is reporting that Scooter Libby has been found guilty on four charges of perjury. This puts the spotlight on Dick Cheney's office in a big way. No doubt Fitzgerald will want further investigations into the questions raised by the testimony in this trial.

It is also interesting that Cheney suddenly showed up in the news as being treated for a blood clot in his leg. The man is frail, no doubt, but this would conveniently add a reason for him to resign for poor health. My question is where will he retire to? My bet is South America!

Also it would open the VP slot for a potential Republican incumbent to run for President in 2008. Watch for Guilliani, McCain or Condi Rice to get this post.

Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream - Patriotic Ice Cream!

As I leaked here over 2 months ago, Ben and Jerry's has indeed produced a Stephen Colbert ice cream flavor. Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream is the latest celebrity flavor from the ice cream moguls.

Shown on The Colbert Report last night the new flavor featured bits of real ice cream cone and swirls of caramel. Sounds really good and patriotic! If this weren't Lent, I'd be having myself a big bowl of it right now. Guess I will have to just buy a couple of pints and let them age in the freezer until Easter?

Halliburton Involved In Walter Reed Scandal

I thought the Walter Reed scandal was missing something and today it comes out. Halliburton! Yup, VP Cheney's only buddies are involved because of the privatization of the services at Walter Reed to the tune of $120 million . The services provided were through the same company IAP (a Halliburton subsidiary) that had so much trouble delivering ice during the Katrina recovery efforts.

As this story develops it will be interesting to see just how deeply involved the ideology of privatization has affected this situation. My guess us that it is the root cause.

Ann Coulter Calls John Edwards Faggot - Why Is She Still On The TV?

Ann Coulter, the most disgusting woman in America has now taken to using gay bashing terms against political candidates. She called John Edwards a "faggot" today and yet she still has a TV show on Fox. If she had called someone a "nigger" do you think she would still be on?

Face it, she is a complete provocateur and speaks only to raise eyebrows. She has no real talent or valid opinions, she is simply a loud-mouthed side show freak for the right wing. I have to say I think even this is too much time to devote to her crap.

1000 Employees At US Embassy In Iraq - 6 Speak Arabic!

Want further proof that the Bush administration is clueless? How about this?

Our embassy in Baghdad has almost 1000 people working in it. First of all that is a crazy number of people at an embassy, and second here is the kicker...only 6 speak Arabic!

Make sense? Not to me or anyone else! What is really sounds like is either an amazing boondoggle or a shadow government for Iraq. Either was it shows lack of planning and a complete lack of understanding of the purpose of an embassy.

The State Department is as intellectually bankrupt and incompetent as the rest of the Bush folks. Enough is enough!

Bush Loosing Support Among GOP

You know it’s getting bad when your own party stops supporting you. Bush’s approval numbers among the GOP are down 13% since last fall. According to a CBS/NY Times poll the President’s approval rating is continuing to plummet.

On specific issues, Bush does even worse. His big strength, the alleged War on Terror sees only 40% of those polled approving of his handling of it.

Congress needs to take heart from these figures. They show an administration that has lost its momentum and is very vulnerable to prosecution for illegal activities. Now if we can just get a few Congresspeople with balls, we might be able to oust the criminals from Washington and get our country back on track.

Boy Dies For Lack Of Health Insurance

Here are the rules: If you have money you get to live and if you don’t you die.

Sound alarmist? You betcha! Here is proof just how uncivilized we are in this country and why we need universal health care.

A 12 year old boy in DC, died from a toothache that spread an infection to his brain. Why? Because his mother could not find a dentist to see him without health insurance.

This has to stop. The insurance companies are running our country and we must take it back. Every other major industrialized country in the world has universal coverage. We have some of the worst and most expensive health care in the world and yet the hospitals and insurance companies continue to tell us otherwise. Time to stop this has long past. This is the stuff of revolutions, and we had better address it soon before more people die for lack of insurance.

Terrorists Are Bad - Unless They Contribute To The GOP

Terrorists are bad, m'kay? Well not so bad when they give lots of money to the Republicans. Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari , was arrested in NY for "on attempt charges of terrorism financing, material support of terrorism, and international money laundering, as well as additional charges of conspiracy and wire fraud." Yet he is a major contributor to the National Republican Campaign Commitee.

Do you think the GOP is going to give the blood tainted money back? Think again. No way!

Latest Buzz - Vanishing Bees!

Next time you sit down to a cup of tea sweetened with honey, savor it. That honey may soon be in short supply. Seems bees are vanishing. Beekeepers who raise and maintain hives for crop pollination are opening their hives to find sometimes more than half of the colony AWOL. The bees have disappeared.

Where did they go? Scientists suspect they have traveled far for food and failed to return. The exact reason is still unknown, however a likely culprit may be the bee business itself. To stay profitable, beekeepers truck their hives from farm to farm to pollinate the crops. The fees paid by farmers keep them in business. The bee business has been consolidating recently and keepers are trucking their bees further and further and this might be putting too much stress on the hive.

The problem is prevalent in several states prompting a serious investigation. Without bees, many food crops would have to find alternative means to pollinate, and that may be tricky.

Meanwhile the Africanized bees creep further and further north. African HoneyBees were introduced in Brazil by accident when they escaped from a research project. The highly aggressive bees have thrived in the Western Hemisphere and are steadily moving north. Texas already has them and they are becoming a problem in other southern states. Not such a sweet deal.

Laura Bush Wants $10 Million Divorce Settlement - Or Not?

I guess Bat Boy must be dead, otherwise why would the Globe keep running stories on the Bush divorce? I saw the screaming headline today that Laura wants $10 million as a settlement. As usual with the Globe no sources are sited and the whole thing smacks of fiction, but its persistence is interesting.

As I mentioned in an earlier post this kind of tabloid story indicates that the Bush family is now fair game in the minds of the average tabloid reader, (AKA Americans). It also might, just might contain a smidgen of truth.

Several months ago a story circulated in Washington that Laura was staying at the Mayflower hotel. That’s down the street from the White House. Several bloggers including Wonkette and myself speculated that this might be a result of the rumor about George Bush and Condi Rice. If you remember she has on occasion referred to him in a Freudian slip as "my husband".

So do I really believe it? I will if I see the divorce papers, but otherwise it’s just the Globe doing the Bat Boy story with a different name, in other words fiction. Does it amuse me? You betcha! Bush is a pretty poor president, but he can be a source of endless amusement.

Al Gore - The Talk Of The Oscars

Though it will no doubt add fodder to the neocon-global-warming-deniers guns, it was great to see Al Gore on the Academy Awards last night. I know I may have to turn in my Gay Card, since I watched it on Tivo instead of live, it still thrilled me when "An Inconvenient Truth" won the Oscar for Best Documentary.

Gore has several moments onstage last night and took the time to promote reversing climate change at every opportunity. He also began to announce what everyone assumed was his candidacy for President when he was "played off" by the orchestra in the interest of time. A very funny bit!

The seriousness of climate change is not a political issue. It is a global reality that will affect everyone, rich or poor, Republican or Democrat. The people denying its existence do so for reasons that are strictly financial. They are paid by energy companies, funded by industry think tanks or supported by powerful political contributors who have a vested interest in the causes of pollution. It's time to expose their fraud and begin to take this as a serious crisis.

Fitzgerald Hints At Further Prosicutions - Is Cheney Next?

As Patrick Fitzgerald concluded his arguments in prosecution of I. Lewis Libby he said there is a "dark cloud over the White House". Few people would miss that reference to Dick Cheney and his staff who seem to be at the heart of the leak of secret information about Valerie Plame’s CIA job. This bodes well for people wanting to see an end to the intrigue and deception of this administration.

My guess is it is an opening salvo in what will become a deeper investigation into the White House dirty tricks and perhaps an indictment of Cheney himself. Already many in the media including most recently a writer for GQ have made the case for VP impeachment. My hope is that these kinds of inquiries will lead to a full purging of the criminal activity going on in the highest levels of our government.

Payday Lenders Under The Gun

Want to get buried in debt really quickly? Go to one of those "payday lenders" you see popping up all over. How do they work? Well to those who have never fallen a little short just before payday here’s the deal.

You go in and see the rates no the wall. They are in dollars and cents, not percents. Typical rates run about $15 for $100 lent until payday. This is also typically a two-week loan. When you think of it on the dollar only level it doesn’t sound so bad, but that $15 represents an annual interest rate of 390%. How many people would pay that?

Payday lenders prey on low-income people who lead a cash existence. These people often times do not have bank accounts and live only with the cash in their pockets. If you have ever tried this, and I have, it is almost impossible especially if an unexpected expense comes along. For many that means a health emergency or car repair or other necessity that is unavoidable. If you make $300 or $400 a week, and need a $250 car repair, things get tight real quick. So you go to the payday loan store and borrow the money.

Here’s the catch. Payday rolls around and you pay off your loan with the interest at $287.50 and you have $12.50 to get you through the week. If you want to eat and feed your kids and have a roof, you head over to the next payday loan store and borrow another $250. Get it? In no time you are working for the loan store and stacking up debt at a phenomenal rate.

These guys used to be called "Loan Sharks" and they were strictly regulated until recently. The GOP mantra of deregulation was a windfall for these guys. Sensing the turning tide with the new congress they are taking a defensive posture and trying to appear self-regulating. In reality they are just covering their collective asses. They see the writing on the wall. About 13 states have effectively banned payday lending; the other 37 regulate the practice to varying degrees. State regulation is pretty much all that protects consumers from these sharks and now it looks like congress is going to take action and they are scared.

They should be. I have no problem with making an honest dollar. But, the payday loans just like the rent-to-own business make money on the ignorance of their consumers and that is just plain wrong.

Denmark and Britian Set To Pull Troops Out Of Iraq

The coalition of the willing seems to be unwilling to continue ad nauseum the crusade George Bush has started in the Middle East. Yesterday, Britain announced it would have all its troups withdrawn from Iraq by 2008 and now Denmark is following suit. Though the tiny Scandinavian country only has 460 Troops there, it will withdraw them all by August of this year.

Once again the rest of the world sees the reality and Bush does not. The Neocon idea of creating reality is really wearing thin and soon we will be so isolated by our illusions they we will become completely alone on the world stage. The biggest problem with that is that as a solo act, Bush just doesn’t play well.

NYT Paints Picture Of Cheney As Center Of Intreague In White House

So an article in the NY Times confirms the suspicion I had all along about Dick Cheney. The article draws a very unflattering picture of Mr. Cheney from the Lewis Libby trial testimony. The picture is of a manipulative, underhanded and backroom dealing VP with unprecedented power in the White House.

Those who have pointed to Cheney as the true power may have been right. Specifically the days leading up to and after the start of the Iraq war were busy for Cheney. His office worked hard to push misleading information and defend flawed intelligence.

Excerpt from the article:

The evidence in the trial shows that Vice President Dick Cheney and Mr. Libby,
his former chief of staff, countermanded and even occasionally misled colleagues
at the highest levels of Mr. Bush’s inner circle as the two pursued their own
goal of clearing the vice president’s name in connection with flawed
intelligence used in the case for war.

Group Lobbies UN To Launch Asteroid Rescue Mission

Here’s a riddle. What is 460 feet long, spinning in space, and is on a very near collision course wit hearth in 2036?

If you guessed Apophis the asteroid, you’re right!

Seems there is a potential killer hurtling toward us and it just might collide in 2036. Now the odds are 1in 45,000 but every day millions of people risk worse odds trying to win the lottery. Luckily a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts are lobbying the UN to do something about it. They have proposed a "Gravity Tractor" mission to tug the asteroid further away from its collision course.

The cost of such a mission? Only around 300 million, and that would be a drop in the bucket compared with the end of an entire city or region of the earth. Sounds like a really good use of our tax dollars.

Wounded Vets Treated Like Animals By Bush Administration

The Bush Administration really loves our troops, as long as they are fighting. The real problem comes when they get home. Recent stories of the house of horrors Walter Reid Medical Center has become make my stomach turn. Rehabilitation for some maimed vets takes place in rat infested sub-standard buildings and without proper medical care.

Worse yet, stories are surfacing of semi-delusional soldiers who are being put out on the street. The Washington Post broke the story last week and it is just now coming to the general public’s attention. It shows the sad truth that the Bush administration, whose new budget proposes even more cuts in Veterans benefits, really cares about nothing but themselves. They show such disdain for our wounded troops that I have to believe their actions are not from administrative mistakes, but calculatedly cruel.

Americablog has an extensive story on what would qualify as abuse of our Veterans at the hands of the very people who should be helping them. Enough is enough. It is time to write your congressperson and demand accountability for these and other crimes against Americans by the Bush administration.

McCain Wants Roe vs. Wade Overturned

So much for any illusion that John McCain is a moderate. In Spartanburg, South Carolina last week he came out fully in favor of overturning Roe vs. Wade. He has come a long way from the moderate-sounding McCain who ran against Bush in the primaries and was smeared by the right-wing that he is now trying to woo.

More and more he comes across not as the voice of reason, but simply another sad politician trying desperately to be relevant to the southern block of hard line conservatives. It is a strategy that will ultimately fail him. By sacrificing his moderate image he will loose all but the most right-wing voters and will gain neither the nomination nor the presidency.

Father Of TV Remote Control Dies

Couch Potatoes of the world are in mourning today as one of the fathers of the TV remote control died at age 93. Robert Adler in vented the Zenith Space Command and TV was never the same.

For those who may not remember, Space Command was a futuristic looking hand held box with two buttons, one for channel up and one for channel down. What the buttons did was activate a spring that struck a small metal chime. This chime emitted a very high frequency ping that signaled the TV to move one channel up or down. Crude, yes by today's standards, but back in the 1950'a being able to click that button and watch the dial move was magic.

Adler shared the title with Eugene Polley who invented the flashmatic remote. It was an optical device that triggered a photo cell on the TV to do the same task.

Both received an Emmy in 1997 for their combined inventions which led to the modern remote control. So next time you reach for that remote rather then get up to change the channel, thank Adler and Polley!

The Word Scrotum Gets Book Banned - Librarians Have No Balls?

For Stephen Colbert it's "balls", for Carlos Mencia it's "Cajones" but the technical word "scrotum" is apparently off limits for reading in school. Librarians across the country have removed a Newberry Award winning book from their shelves because of the medically correct term.

The book, "The Higher Power Of Lucky" mentions the word in the opening chapter when a character in the book hears another character describing how a rattlesnake bit his dog on the scrotum. Apparently medicine is off limits for our youth.

Ridiculous? You betcha! This is a crazy as removing Huckleberry Finn from libraries because the characters use the term "nigger" in their speech. Never mind that the term was used colloquially at the time and that the books message is anti-racist. It's THAT word!

What will happen to our little sheltered kids when they go out into the real world and experience real slang and actual medical terminology? I guess they will be clueless, almost as clueless as their parents and librarians.

Another Heterosexual Child Molester - This One Is A Cop

Well those dangerous heterosexuals have now been employed as policemen and just as I predicted, they have begun their reign of terror and child molestation! (Sarcasm Filter Off)

OK, look. If the right-wing-nuts can make blanket statements about gays, then I can make them about straights, especially when the statistics are on my side. Most child molesters are straight. The latest case is amazing. A cop in New Jersey got a 15 year old girl to perform oral sex ion him and he gets off with a 10 day sentence. SAY WHAT?

Yup, seems in Ocean City, New Jersey as long as you are a straight cop you can have sex with kids and get a 10 day sentence. I almost shouted when I read this.

So my question is, how come if it had been a gay man the sentence would have been much longer and the outrage would have been greater? Guess there is still no equal justice in this country.

Secret Program Illegally Isolates Muslim, Middle Eastern Prisoners

US Department of Justice has secretly started segregating Muslim and Middle-Eastern inmates and is tightly controlling and restricting their communication apparent violation of federal law. According to an investigative piece in Raw Story, the "Communications Management Unit" (CMU) at a federal penitentiary in Indiana was started without notice even though such changes are supposed to be made public by federal law.

It is not much of a stretch to imagine that full scale Muslim prison camps will be the next step. The Department of Justice must be held accountable and watched closely. With people like Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, everybody's rights are at stake.

Another Pacific Island Sinks Due To Global Warming

Another Pacific country is vanishing because of rising sea levels caused by global warming. The latest casualty is Kiribati, a small country in the South Pacific near Australia. Anote Tong, president of Kiribati said, "We can't out-move the changes in the weather and the sea level rise. We have to consider leaving rather than wait.''

The small country is comprised of several low lying islands whose population lives close to the shoreline. Government officials are trying to make plans to relocate the 105,000 people off the islands to safer locations. According to estimates the entire country will be uninhabitable by mid-century

The government is currently building retaining walls to protect the Taro crop, one of the primary foods of the islands, but that is only a temporary measure. In an interview with Bloomberg News Tong said, " Some villages have already had to relocate." Of one island he said, " If we keep moving back from the shoreline on the lagoon side then we will eventually get to the ocean side. We live on very narrow strips of land, so adaptation is not so relevant.''

So now Kiribati joins Lohachara as the latest in the line of islands now uninhabitable because of global warming. And what are we doing about it? Bush administration toadies continue to call for more research, etc, anything but do something about it! Maybe when Florida begins to sink, the White House might listen.

Fred Phelps Hates Larry The Cable Guy?

So Fred "God Hates Fags" Phelps now hates Larry The Cable Guy! Why? Well if you read his twisted press release, you still have trouble knowing why. Fred just hates anyone who has any sympathy toward Gay and Lesbian people, plain and simple. Personally I kind of like Larry in a big furry bear way.

Most interesting is a letter I found reprinted in the Topeka newspaper from one of Fred Phelps estranged sons. The letter says a lot about Reverend Phelps and his church of hate. It also says a lot about the character and honesty of his son.

I will not include a link to Phelps Westboro Baptist Church site, since it will only make you want to spit at your computer screen.

Wal-Mart Selling Nazi Themed T-Shirts

Wal-Mart is selling T-shirts with the Nazi SS Totenkopf (Deaths Head) on them. Nice touch from the folks who have single handedly managed to wipe out many US industries and ship them to China.

Now I am in favor of free speech, but teenagers are buying these and may not even realize what they are wearing. Let Wal-Mart know your views.

January 2007 - Hottest January Ever!

Want more evidence of Global Warming? How about this tidbit? January of 2007 was the warmest since records have been kept. The last such record was in 2002. The folks over at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, "the presence of El Nino along with the continuing global warming trend contributed to the record warm January."

I am sure carbon emitting industries will deny this and point to the recent blizzard in the northeast, but the fact remains, it's getting hotter!

Al Franken Announces Senate Bid

Comedian Al Franken makes the formal announcement for his bid to fill the seat once held by Minnesota Democrat Paul Wellstone. His YouTube clip offers a sincere and well reasoned appeal to Minnesota voters.

It is refreshing to see a person with wit and intelligence running for Senate. Franken, a strong supporter of our troops and performer on numerous USO tours offers a well reasoned perspective on the Iraq war and on the problems facing middle class Americans.

State Farm Insurance - Like A Good Neighbor, Pulling Out Of Mississippi

Like a bad neighbor, State Farm Insurance turns its back on Mississippi. After fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying claims in the state that was ravaged by Katrina, they now decide to pull out completely. Having spoken with residents of Mississippi myself, I can tell you that there is a battle still going on long after the hurricane about insurance settlements.

Many homes that were swept clean of their foundations have still not been settled. State Farm insists that it was flood damage and they do not cover that, and the flood insurance folks claim it was wind damage and they don’t cover that. In the meantime, hundreds of families are without their homes and unable to do anything about it. Courts are clogged with lawsuits and more are on the way. Why? Because the companies that many residents trusted for their insurance refuse to pay up now that there are claims.

The company claims it is those lawsuits that prompted them to make the decision to discontinue writing new policies in the state. Funny how it is their own intransigence that caused the suits. What better way to take the money and run? Write policies you have no intention of covering and once the claims come in, refuse to pay. When you are hauled into court, just leave the state! Ah the joys of being a big corporation, all the benefits of corporate personhood (for political contributions) and all the protection of corporate irresponsibility.

Evolution Back In Kansas Schools Where It Belongs

Welcome back to the 21st Century Kansas! Looks like the long maligned school system of Kansas is finally throwing the "creationist" agenda out the window. In an Associated Press story:

"The Kansas school board, long ridiculed for its resistance to teaching evolution, prepared Tuesday to repeal rules backed by social conservatives and switch to science guidelines that embrace Charles Darwin's mainstream theories. "

About time! Now if we can only convince the home schoolers that teaching real science is necessary for their children to function in the 21st Century.

Global Warming Conspiracy Theorist On The Daily Show

Christopher Horner, apologist for global warming with the Competitive Enterprise Institute was on The Daily Show last night and he looked like an arrogant asshole. Why? Because he takes the advancement of science as mere faddish trends. He pointed to previous climate changes and said that the "experts" had claimed global cooling and warming before. He compares scientists to kids chasing a soccer ball back and forth, constantly flip flopping on their opinions.

What he misses, and purposefully so, is that science advances. New data brings new theories and as research progresses we get a better picture of the natural world. For example prior to the discovery of bacteria, diseases were thought to be from various sources including bile and other body fluids. After the discovery of bacteria, science began to more accurately pin the cause of disease on bacteria and other microbes.

He also blames the whole global warming issue on the "greens" who he compares to communists. Indeed, he sounded like a loony, but he is not. He has an agenda, and that is to delay any regulations that would restrict industry in any way. That is his job. The think tank he works for is funded by big business and he dances to their tune. Stewart worked to cut through the bullshit Horner spouted but never managed to get a concise explanation from Horner as to why there was a "vast global conspiracy" to stop CO2 emissions.

Russian Soldiers Forced Into Prostitution

Apparently the Russian Army has the entrepreneurial spirit. Reports have surfaced that new conscripts were forced into male prostitution in St. Petersburg and older soldiers took their fees. Once soldier was even beaten and abused so badly he ended up having his legs and genitals amputated.

A coalition of Soldier’s Mothers has brought the abuse to the attention of the press and the government. These kinds of incidents are highly embarrassing to the Russian Government as it seeks a more prominent role in world affairs.

"Embolden Our Enemies" - The New GOP Talking Point

Well the new Republican catch phrase for the anti-war resolutions going through the House is "it will embolden our enemies". I was listening to NPR this afternoon and heard three different Republicans use the same phrase over and over again. They also spoke of al-Qaeda as the enemy and never mentioned the sectarian violence and religious civil war going on that endangers our troops and Iraqi's alike.

Talking points? You betcha! ThinkProgress.com uncovered a leaked letter to GOP representatives that tells how to couch debate in terms that never mention the war or Iraq. They insist that this is part of the "Global War on Terrorism" and send a clear message to stay on that issue.

No matter how they try to cloud the issue, the truth is we are in the middle of a Civil War we helped start but cannot finish. This is a no win situation for the US and the sooner we realize that the sooner we can start doing something productive. The real answer will come from diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors and real dialogue with the warring sides. Unfortunately that is a message Bush does not want to hear.

Bush Proposes Cuts To Veteran's Benifits

As further proof that the Bush supports our fighting men and women, he has proposed cutting Veteran’s benefits. Say what? Yup, the chicken hawk President is proposing cuts in benefits starting in 2 years. About the time they come home from Iraq by his timetable.

Nice way to balance the budget, on the backs of the people defending us. Of course this is part of his budget that also cuts Medicaid and Medicare so the rich can have even more tax cuts.

I have an idea, why not just give the country to the rich and make the poor work for nothing just to have the right to live here. Oh wait! It’s almost that way now. Maybe we can even bring in some "guest workers" who will pay us to work here? Aw heck why not just bring back slavery!

NY Times Assertion That 25% Of US Deaths In Iraq Due To Iranian Arms Not True

So this morning listening to NPR, I heard a story quoted from the NY Times saying that 25% of Americans killed in Iraq were victim of "penetrator" shells provided by Iran. The article blames Shiite malitas who are allegedly using the devices.

" In the last three months of 2006, attacks using the weapons
accounted for a significant portion of Americans killed and wounded in Iraq,
though less than a quarter of the total, military officials say."

Apparently the NY Times is taking everything the US Military sorces are giving them as absolute truth. Shades of Judith Miller!

Juan Cole, President of the Global Americana Institute, checks the facts and finds it's nothing of the sort. He states on Informed Consent, "This claim is one hundred percent wrong. Because 25 percent of US troops were not killed fighting Shiites in those three months. "

Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chair Finds No Iran Link Despite Administration Claims

Despite the Bush administrations assertions, General Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman finds no proof of Iranian involvement in the explosives that are killing American troops.

The faces at the White House must be very red right now, when their hand picked guy even says their intelligence is not convincing.

Since Lent Is Only A Week Away

Thought I would share this clip of last Easter at my church. As Lent approaches and many Christians begin a spiritual journey through weeks of contemplation and sacrifice, It's nice to know what awaits on Easter.

Hope you enjoy the clip and if you are ever in Dallas, join us for worship some Sunday.

Ex-Bush Official Says US Looking For Excuse To Attack Iran

An Ex-Bush official has come out with the obvious statement that Bush is trying to start a war with Iran. For those who have been asleep, look at the newspaper or any news program and you will see the word Iran splashed across everything.

Hillary Mann, former National Security Council Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Affairs said in an interview on CNN this morning, "They're trying to push a provocative, accidental conflict."

She also said the US is trying to goad Iran into some sort of action that could be used as an excuse for a full-scale reprisal.

Once again Bush is trying to get us into a Middle-eastern conflict without any goal or plan. If you don’t think this is happening check the numerous stories on improvised explosive devices with Iranian markings. This may or may not be true, and because Iran is still a major trading partner with Iraq, any number of components could have Iranian markings without any specific intent. Additionally, any intelligence leaked by the Bush administration should be viewed as highly suspect. Remember the Niger yellow cake, or the Saddam ties with al-Qaeda? Phony stories are this administrations bread and butter and I hope Congress will see them as yelling wolf one time too many and cut off funding for any more wars in the area.

Another Dangerous Heterosexual Child Predator

A female counselor at a juvenile detention center in Glenwood Springs, Colorado was convicted of 5 counts of unlawful sexual contact with teenage boys as young as 15. Former child care counselor Charalene Bera was convicted of charges arising from sexual contact with three teenage boys in her care at the Emily Griffith Center.

Again the dangerous predatory behavior of heterosexuals shows how dangerous they are around children. We must not allow our children to be exposed to these kinds of dangerous lifestyles.

OK, irony filters off. Next time you hear some quack like James Dobson talk about child molesting gays, show him this article and the hundreds of others like it that happen each year.

Gonzales Moves To Replace US Attorneys WIth Political Hacks

In the brashest move by the Bush administration and what is being called a coup d’etat no behalf of Alberto Gonzales, the administration has forced at least 7 US Attorneys to resign. They are being replaced by lock-step political appointees who are unquestioning in their loyalty to Bush.

Among those being dismissed were several at work on high profile corruption cases. Earlier this week, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty admitted that the U.S. attorney in Arkansas, Bud Cummins, was pushed out to make way for a "37-year-old protege" of Karl Rove.

If all this smacks of something shady, consider that Bush also cleared the way for heads of all government regulatory agencies replaced with political appointees. He is clamping down his hold on the government, consolidating power and to what end? I have to be suspect of his motives. Since his term is up in two more years, I have to wonder if he doesn’t intent to refuse to relinquish power after the next election.

Keep your eyes and ears open, because Congress is asleep at the wheel.

Pentagon Report Show Deception By Bush Administration

Once again a smoking gun has appeared showing that the Bush administration cooked the intelligence on Iraq prior to the invasion. The recent report by the Pentagon’s Inspector General has been described as “very damning” in its explanation of how the Pentagon manipulated intelligence to portray Saddam Hussein as an ally of al-Qaeda.


In an interview with the Washington Post, Senator Carl Levin, Democrat from Michigan states, "that was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war…which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate ... is something which is highly disturbing."


My question is just how disturbing is it? To ordinary Americans, this report is direct evidence that Bush lied to us to get us into a war. That is heady stuff. If that is not ground for impeachment, I can’t imagine what would be. As a result of his lie, thousands of Americans and many more thousands of Iraqis have died in a war that did not have to happen. How much more evidence must pile up at the doorstep of Congress before they take action?


I again suggest that anyone concerned about this write his or her Congressperson. Demand answers and an investigation and if necessary, impeachment. This whole thing has stunk to high heaven from day one and how much longer will we let it go on?

Tek Jansen - Stephen Colbert Alter Ego

I couldn't resist adding this latest Tek Jansen Adventure for your enjoyment.

Laura And George Bush Separation Story - Update

So far, I have been unable to confirm anything regarding this story. The only absolute is the dynamic increase in traffic to my blog. Since I posted the headline I saw in the Globe Magazine at the supermarket my traffic has increased 300%!

More importantly this increase means the public is not only willing to believe that Bush may indeed have feet of clay, but that they seem eager to find anything that shows him to be a fallible human being. Perhaps it is our societies odd notion that morality starts at the waist and ends at the knees.

Clinton was impeached for lying about having sex. Not a federal crime or treasonous, yet Bush commits dozens of serious acts , any one of which could be considered impeachable and nobody demands his prosecution. Looking at the referrals of a sample of the traffic to my blog, the search terms "Laura and Bush Trial Separation" are the most common. That means either a whole lot of people are fact checking the tabloids, or they want the dirt on the President.

Either way it is a hopeful sign. Either people have stopped taking everything they read for granted and are willing to do a little research to find the truth, or people are desperate to find anything incriminating on Bush so they can feel good about wanting him out of office.

Why wait? Write your congressperson now and demand investigations and impeachment now!

GOP Congressman Mentions Possibility Of Bush Impeachment

Though is seems the Democratic Congress is unwilling to discuss impeachment, the GOP is. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican from California, criticized the Bush administration in regard to a case where two border agents are imprisoned on charges of shooting a Mexican drug smuggler in the back and then attempting to cover it up.

Rohrabacher said in a fiery speech, "I tell you, Mr. President, if these men, especially after this assault, are murdered in prison, or if one of them lose their lives, there's going to be some kind of impeachment talk in Capitol Hill."

The mere mention of the "I" word by GOP Lawmakers sends a message that even those who march in lock step with the Bush administration are tiring of the inaction and incompetence. Though this case may not be anything Democrats want to get involved in, I would encourage them to take the lead and start making some noise. The magic spell has been broken, now you can say the word impeachment without being seen as a troublemaker. Come on Dems! Show your balls.

Ted Haggard Cured Of Homosexuality - Gets Payoff From Church To Go Away

So what was touted as taking maybe several years has ended up being a 3 week crash course on heterosexuality. Seems Ted Haggard, recently fallen evangelical pastor of the New Lief Church in Colorado Springs has been given a new life. After only 3 weeks he has been pronounced completely heterosexual.

The subtext behind this is that he has reached a settlement with the church. They paid him an undisclosed amount of money and he agrees to move out of the state. Sounds a lot like the Catholic Church's dealing with their pedophile priests. Move them out so they become someone else's problem.

First of all, I don't buy this cure for a minute. Homosexuality isn't a disease so there is no cure. Also, who is to say that Ted Haggard isn't just bisexual? Why does he have to come down on one side or the other? More importantly, why has the church put a gag order on him if he's cured?

The agreement apparently has a stipulation that he not speak of the affair again. That really sounds like the kind of thinking that many fundamentalists really fall prey to. If you don't talk about a problem, it goes away! Well guess what? Haggard will continue to have problems until he comes to terms with his sexuality and admits that he has at least some attraction to men. Big deal? For a fundamentalist it is. They need to live in a constant struggle between God and Satan in order to keep their faith going. It's all about good and evil and personal salvation. The problem is they get so bogged down in dispensationalism they forget to follow Jesus and do His work. That stuff about feeding the hungry, advocating for the prisoner and clothing the naked takes a back seat to securing my seat in heaven.

I really don't like to throw stones at someone else's beliefs, but when you build your house out of very thin glass and insist on throwing rocks at everyone else, what do you expect? Haggard and his kind have made life miserable for us gay and lesbian people for years. Using us as a cause du jour for fundraising and aiming lots of hatred our way. That's why Ted was outed in the first place. The guy he was paying for sex and drugs had a revelation. He saw the hypocrisy and decided to do something about it. Good for him! Some day he might even be considered a prophet, someone who speaks truth to power. If only we had more like him that would speak out and drive the homophobic hate mongers out of their closets.

Divine Strake Back In The News

A group of Nevada citizens is lobbying the Governor to demand an environmental impact statement before the Department of Defense can conduct their fake nuclear blast with the oddly apocalyptic name, Divine Strake.

The explosion, which is expected to produce a mushroom shaped cloud, was scheduled for last June but has been postponed indefinitely. However, today is the last day to file objections with the government, so I expect it to be happening in the near future. Objections come from a wide variety of people in both Nevada and Utah concerned about soil from the former nuclear test site being dispersed into the air. Of course the government says that won't be a problem, and of course everyone is skeptical of that claim.

Additionally, there is still a suit that was filed by the Western Shoshone tribe who claims the mammoth blast will contaminate their ancestral lands.

Divine Strake is a conventional blast, but is designed to simulate a bunker buster atomic weapon in its effect. The explosion is widely thought to be a possible prequel to resumed nuclear testing

Time To Investigate President Bush Says Chief Council Of Nixon Probe

According to an interview in Raw Story, the former chief council in charge of investigating Richard Nixon says it's time to investigate President Bush. Frederick A.O. Schwarz, was chief counsel to the Church Committee from 1975-1976 and their probe into illegal use of US intelligence agencies by the Nixon White House.

From the interview:

“Another thing that needs to be looked at is the theory that the Bush administration has that the president is entitled to break the law,” he said. “Because if that’s right, then much of what they've done with respect to warrantless wiretapping and torture, he's like a king, and he has the right, so you must take on that third subject to have a good investigation.”

Guess we will have to wait to see if anyone in Congress listens to him.

Stephen Colbert Ice Cream Flavor?

Could the folks at Ben & Jerry's be planning a patriotic flavor themed around the Nation's Truthiness Czar? Well the rumors on the Internet are flying and given the nature of the info, I suspect it's an early promotion for the real thing.

Colbert's No Fact Zone hints at it and even Salon.com has speculation. What could be more American than a rich creamy red, white and blue ice cream with a hint of political satire. Only thing better would be the same thing, topped with gummi bears.

Republicans Score As Worst Senators In Online Poll

Gotta love polls! The latest poll of America's Senators puts a couple of big loosers right where they belong, at the bottom of the heap. Leiberman and McCain are 98 and 99 respectively. Now that could change since it's an online poll. Not very scientific, but still very amusing.
Interetingly, the bottom 50 with the exception of Lieberman are all Republicans. The lone Republican to score in the top 50 is Chuck Haggle at number 48!

Log on and let's see if we can get them tied for last place.

Snickers Removes Gay Bashing Ads

Americablog reports that Mars Candy company has issued a statement in the NY Times regarding their homophobic commercials broadcast during the Super Bowl. They have removed the ads from their website as well as the offensive comments by NFL players about the ad which featured two mechanics working on a car. One is eating a Snickers bar and the other is drawn to try to bite it from the first guys mouth. They eat furiously like Lady and the Tramp on a piece of spaghetti and end up kissing. After they jump back in disgust, they decide they have to do something "manly" and proceed to rip out their chest hair.

The real problem was alternate endings that viewers could vote on including one where the two men beat each other brutally with a monkey wrench. I guess they consider violence against people perceived as gay a "manly" act.

Their statement is far from an apology and claims they were just going for the 18 to 25 year old male demographic. Guess they consider gay bashing appealing to that consumer group?

U.S. Soldiers Torturing An Injured Dog In Iraq

This is very disturbing video, and if you don't have a strong stomach don't watch it. I am posting it because this is what happens when you put soldiers in a war with no clear mission and no hope of success. We need to get our troops out of Iraq and back home. These particular troops I suspect are bored and fristrated and finding amusement in the torture of a wounded dog. This makes me very mad. These guys need to be home and this crap has to stop before we have worse scenes on our screens.

Snickers Not So Funny Gay Bashing Super Bowl Ads

Mars Candy company owners of Snickers brand presented a mildly amusing gay bashing ad in the Super Bowl this Sunday. The real problem aside from the idea of homosexuality being the punch line was their web site which features alternate endings for the spot including a hard core monkey wrench to the midsection attack.

This kind of homophobia disguised as "humor" only serves to encourage gay bashing in not so subtle ways. The website includes athletes reacting with disgust to the "gay kiss" punchline of the ad. Enough of this Mars. So far the Human Rights Campaign as well as thousands of others have let them know this kind of stuff is not OK. Let them know how you feel!

Bush Budget Cuts Centers For Disease Control In Face Of Bird Flu

So here's the latest insane proposal by our dictator in chief. His budget includes a cut of $500 million for the Centers for Disease Control. Now if you have half a brain and have been reading the news you will know that the CDC is one of our first lines of defense from epidemics. There is this little problem that recently made it to England called the Avian Influenza. This is the bird flu that scientists expect to become a global pandemic when it jumps to humans from birds.

Pandemics like this are fatal to millions of people and the CDC is on the front lines of defense, so it is only logical that Bush cut their funding. NOT! This is the most lame-brained budget ever and it shows Bush's blatant disregard for the health and safety of the American people.

If this were a baseball game, something the President is very familiar with the crowds would be shouting, "THROW THE BUM OUT!"

Turneer Broadcasting Settles With City Of Boston For 2 Million

If I had put a bunch of suspicious looking electronic devices all over Boston, I would be roting in prison right now. For Turner Broadcasting it's just another business expense. They settled with the city of Boston for $2 million. The first million covered the expenses of emergency responders caused by the bomb scare and the second million was for good will.

If you haven't been following the story, the problem came from dozens of electronic gadgets with LEDs blinking on them that Cartoon Network (a Turner Company) had plastered across Boston as a PR gimmick for a new adult cartoon show. People saw the suspicious devices and what ensued was a full scale post 9/11 panic. Bomb squads blew at least one of them up and the others shut down traffic and businesses for hours.

The moral of the story...if you have money, you can do anything you want.

Bush Budget = More Money For Guns, No Money For Healthcare

Once again Bush puts our money where his mouth is. The new budget has a $300 billion item for military spending (read corporations selling arms) and a $100 billion cut in Medicare and Medicaid. So to put is in simpler terms Bush is saying, "f*#k you America, I’m going to have my war and make my friends richer at the expense of the poor."

Congress needs to know how you feel about this. Write your Congressperson today and let them know. Even though my representatives are people like Kay Bailey Hutchison, the biggest "yes woman" in the Senate, I still write her almost daily to protest the President’s dictatorial actions. I get a variety of form letters back, but at least she gets the mail.

Stop Escalation Super Bowl Ad

This ad will run in several states during the Super Bowl as a direct attack on the Senators that have not signed on to the non-binding resolution. Watch it and you will be affected by it's powerful message.

Music Video - "Get Out of Iraq: Impeach"

I usually don't post videos, but this one is catchy. The music may not be to everyone's taste, but the message is clear. Enjoy!

Florida To Get Paper Ballots - Fair Elections A Little Too Late

So finally the folks in Florida figured out that they have problems with their voting machines. Well that’s not exactly fair, they figured that out in 2000 with the whole hanging chad fiasco, but now they got the touch screen machines. Guess what? They are error prone and easily rigged.

Sooooo. Now that Jeb Bush is out of office, Florida Governor Charlie Crist says the state need paper ballots. Wow! A politician wanting fair elections in Florida? Things must be changing. Pity they weren’t around in 2000. Had the election then been fair we wouldn’t be in Iraq and the world would be a safer place.

Laura & George Again - Trial Separation?

Like the ubiquitous Bat Boy, the tale of Laura and George's marital problems have become the latest fodder for the tabloids again. As I walked through the supermarket my eye was caught by the headline, "Trial Separation". According to the Globe Magazine, Laura and George have agreed to a one month trial separation. After that who knows?

Again, I take this with a big helping of salt. The real story is that it seems that middle America is now ready to believe that the President's life is the stuff of scandals, and that speaks volumes.

This story keeps resurfacing and I am beginning to wonder if there may be a little smidgen of truth somewhere in it.

Lesbians Register In Mexico's 1st Gay Union

It’s a sad day when our neighbor to the south, Mexico grants more rights to its gay and lesbian citizens that our own country. Of course it’s been a sad day here since Canada legalized marriage between same-sex couples, but that’s another story.

31 states in Mexico grant civil union privileges to same-sex couples, and here in the USA, only a handful recognize the right of gay and lesbians to have their unions recognized by the government.

Yesterday a lesbian couple in Saltillo tied the knot to be the first same-sex couple in Mexico to do so. Who knows, this may start a wave of migration by gay and lesbian Americans to Mexico?

Bomb Scare As PR Stunt? Bad Idea!

Sometimes I have to wonder if people involved in PR even watch the news. The folks at Cartoon Network take the prize for being out of touch with reality. Being a network devoted to animated escapades this shouldn’t surprise me!

Some rocket scientist in their PR department decided placing little electronic gadgets all over Boston and apparently some other cities with blinking LEDs was a great way to promote their new show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force". Now let’s do the logic. We live in a paranoid country that jails people for simply saying the word "bomb", and you are going to put gadgets that to the untrained eye could resemble bombs all over big cities? Yea, that will be great PR!

Well guess what? Boston went on red alert for a day, with bomb squads running too and fro and the citizens scared shitless. I suspect the creators of this stunt will be charged with some crime and sent off to Gitmo. In this case, I think that is a good idea. Idiots like these, especially PR people whose very existence is of questionable use to humanity anyway, need to be taken off the street and locked away. Next thing you know, someone will start sending out guys with fake guns to hide on the tops of buildings to promote CSI or some other crime soap opera.

In reality, these geniuses will probably be given jobs in the Bush administration in charge of misinformation and propaganda. After all a scared populace is more malliable.

Molly Ivins, Proud Liberal, Dies At 62

In my mothers vernacular Molly Ivins was an SOB. That stood for "Salty Old Broad". It was the highest compliment my mom could pay anyone, and that was why Molly was her favorite journalist. Molly didn’t put up with fools and she called it like she saw it.

Molly lost very few battles in her life, but today she succumbed to cancer. Molly’s wit and candor will be sorely missed in Texas journalism. Texas will have one fewer voice of sanity after today, and that makes me very sad. Last year we lost another SOB, Governor Ann Richards, a woman cut from the same cloth as Molly. I just hope their legacy will inspire a few dozen writers to speak truth to power. This state needs all of that we can get.

In her last column, on January 12, Molly wrote:

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single
day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help
stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look
ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of
there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge.

Army Investigates Abu Ghraib Gang Rapes By US Soldiers

Just when you though the Iraq war couldn't get any stranger we have this latest atrocity that appeared on YouTube. Soldiers taped an interview of a guard at Abu Ghraib who told of selling female prisoners for sex at $50 a pop. In a quote from the video the unnamed soldier says of the man who was pimping the girls out, "I think at the end of the day he'd made like 500 bucks before she hung herself."

Great PR! Sounds so much like Vietnam I am getting chills. The video was pulled from YouTube and the Army is investigating its authenticity. Until then it is online here at IraqSloger.

Bush Guts Privacy - FBI Snooping On All Internet Communications

Bush is moving at full speed to consolidate power and now has pushed the FBI into a surveillance program like the NSA wiretap program. No communication is private anymore with this plan. The FBI can look at anything you do or write online without warrants. It is a wholesale sweep of digital communications with no particular target in mind.

Next will be the clamp down on media. That is a dire prediction, but Bush seems to be moving full speed ahead to consolidate power before anyone can throw him out of office.

Bush Guts Federal Oversight - Another Executive Order

In a further move toward complete dictatorial powers, President Bush issued an Executive Order yesterday that gives him complete control over all regulatory offices. The directive states that a political appointee must head regulatory offices that have previously been headed by scientists and civil servants.

This move is obviously an attempt to further consolidate power and put a lock on the government by the Bush administration. It effectively expands the powers of the President and is unprecedented in US History.

This should be another warning of Bush’s intentions to become an absolute ruler without accountability or opposition. Imagine how the FCC will issue broadcast licenses with a political appointee at the head. Imagine how the FDA will change the approval process of new drugs with a political appointee as head. Imagine how the EPA will deregulate industry with a political appointee as head.

Bush is once again playing the role of Queen Evileen in the musical "The Wiz". "Don’t nobody bring me no bad news!"

Time to send him really bad news. Impeach him now before we no longer have the option.

Bush Divorce Story Back In The Tabloids

Last December the Globe Magazine, legendary supermarket tabloid featured the First Family on the cover with the shocking headline about an impending divorce for Laura and George. This week there was another cover with a similar story. Now I know that these scandal sheets make things up, or at least blow little details out of proportion, but it does show the mood of the country when scandals about Bush are big sellers at the supermarket checkout.

That means Middle-America is willing to consider that Bush is not the Godlike figure he presents, and also signals a disillusionment with his persona and I would assert his policies as well.

(The cover shown is from last December.)

The Real John McCain - New Video On YouTube

Finally someone is using YouTube for a good cause. Exposing the real John McCain is the latest project of Brave New Films, a socially responsible online film company that is changing the way documentaries are made.

Watch it here, and if you had any notions of John McCain being a moderate, think again! He is a wolf in sheep's clothing and as I have blogged before has made a deal with the GOP devils to be the next candidate.

His duplicity and lies rival Bush's and he comes off as a complete media whore.

Kucinich Warns Bush Of Impeachment

Dennis Kucinich has never done much to excite me as far as a presidential candidate, but his statement yesterday about Bush’s being "up to his old tricks" really got my attention. He used the "I" word, and that was a first. Could the Democratic Party be awakening after its long slumber?

He made a long statement about the Bush administration building up the misinformation towards an Iranian offensive. That seems to be very true to me. Bush is beating the drums loudly on Iran, but what Kucinich sad last was the kicker.

"The degree to which this President continues to take steps to go to war against Iran without consulting with the full Congress is the degree to which he is increasingly putting himself in jeopardy of an impeachment proceeding."

I might have to start looking at him seriously as a presidential candidate now.

Molly Ivins Hospitalized

I don't often encourage people to put names on a prayer list but I will today. Molly Ivins, the brightest star in Texas journalism was hospitalized today. She has been fighting cancer for several years and doctors say she may be able to go home as soon as Monday.

Her tough Texas girl persona, along with her unapologetic liberalism was a refreshing change from the usual right-wing reporting that is common in the Lone Star State. Her frequent jabs at "Dubbya" and the Texas "ledge" always brighten my reading.

Get well soon, Molly.

New Mexico Lawmakers Call For Bush Impeachment

Well one thing about New Mexico aside from the natural beauty of the land and the inferno like summers, the state lawmakers have balls. State lawmakers there have floated an Impeachment resolution in the New Mexico legislature.

If more states showed this kind of initiative, the US Congress might get off its collective ass and do something. Right now the hearings have started but they promise to be slow and cautious. When will a Congressperson stand up and state the obvious, this President has broken the law numerous times.

Write your representative and demand impeachment now.

Outrageous Video Of Iraqi Troops Beating Suspects While US Troops Laugh & Watch

This video shows some of the brutality that is taking place in Iraq. It is disturbing and raw, and speaks volumes about the lack of focus to our mission in Iraq. Posted on Raw Story it was reported by Channel Four.

Rummy Has Not Left The Building

Just when you thought Rummy had left the building, he’s back! Seems Donald Rumsfeld has a job at the Pentagon as an unpaid consultant. The excuse for this is so he can sift through all the papers he generated to find those he may need for memoirs or library etc. To do this he has a staff of two military officers and two enlisted men helping.

So, it seems from the date he resigned, in early November until the day he officially left the Pentagon just before Christmas, was not enough time to get things in order.

I have to wonder if the shredders aren’t working full time in that office and that "top secret" stamp isn’t running out of ink. With this administration everything becomes secret and no evidence is left in the public record. They must have taken their cues from Enron.

Exonerated

IN a country with a President who claims to believe in a "culture of life" why do we still have the death penalty?

Diebold Voting Machine Keys On The Web!

So you want to throw an election? Well, Diebold, the same people that brought you those bug-filled voting machines have provided detailed directions in the form of a photo of the master key that opens all Diebold voting machines. How stupid are they, or more precisely, how much do they want their machines hacked to throw an election? Anyone with a little talent, a file and a key blank can cut the required keys and voila, you got an election in the bag!

Brad Blog has the story and a video of the homemade keys opening a Diebold machine. Write your Congressperson and demand paper ballots!

Democratic Response To State Of The Union Speech

Below is the transcript of the Democratic Response delivered by Senator Jim Webb. It is not only good, it's terrific, and far more truthful and inspiring than the clap-trap Bush delivered. Read it and be grateful that the Democrats have begun to recover their true identity as liberals and true patriots.

Good evening.

I'm Senator Jim Webb, from Virginia, where this year we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown – an event that marked the first step in the long journey that has made us the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth.

It would not be possible in this short amount of time to actually rebut the President's message, nor would it be useful. Let me simply say that we in the Democratic Party hope that this administration is serious about improving education and healthcare for all Americans, and addressing such domestic priorities as restoring the vitality of New Orleans.

Further, this is the seventh time the President has mentioned energy independence in his state of the union message, but for the first time this exchange is taking place in a Congress led by the Democratic Party. We are looking for affirmative solutions that will strengthen our nation by freeing us from our dependence on foreign oil, and spurring a wave of entrepreneurial growth in the form of alternate energy programs. We look forward to working with the President and his party to bring about these changes.

There are two areas where our respective parties have largely stood in contradiction, and I want to take a few minutes to address them tonight. The first relates to how we see the health of our economy – how we measure it, and how we ensure that its benefits are properly shared among all Americans. The second regards our foreign policy – how we might bring the war in Iraq to a proper conclusion that will also allow us to continue to fight the war against international terrorism, and to address other strategic concerns that our country faces around the world.

When one looks at the health of our economy, it's almost as if we are living in two different countries. Some say that things have never been better. The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared. When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did; today, it's nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day.

Wages and salaries for our workers are at all-time lows as a percentage of national wealth, even though the productivity of American workers is the highest in the world. Medical costs have skyrocketed. College tuition rates are off the charts. Our manufacturing base is being dismantled and sent overseas. Good American jobs are being sent along with them.
In short, the middle class of this country, our historic backbone and our best hope for a strong society in the future, is losing its place at the table. Our workers know this, through painful experience. Our white-collar professionals are beginning to understand it, as their jobs start disappearing also. And they expect, rightly, that in this age of globalization, their government has a duty to insist that their concerns be dealt with fairly in the international marketplace.
In the early days of our republic, President Andrew Jackson established an important principle of American-style democracy – that we should measure the health of our society not at its apex, but at its base. Not with the numbers that come out of Wall Street, but with the living conditions that exist on Main Street. We must recapture that spirit today.

And under the leadership of the new Democratic Congress, we are on our way to doing so. The House just passed a minimum wage increase, the first in ten years, and the Senate will soon follow. We've introduced a broad legislative package designed to regain the trust of the American people. We've established a tone of cooperation and consensus that extends beyond party lines. We're working to get the right things done, for the right people and for the right reasons.

With respect to foreign policy, this country has patiently endured a mismanaged war for nearly four years. Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary, that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism, and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable in the most violent and turbulent corner of the world.

I want to share with all of you a picture that I have carried with me for more than 50 years. This is my father, when he was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift. He sent us the picture from Germany, as we waited for him, back here at home. When I was a small boy, I used to take the picture to bed with me every night, because for more than three years my father was deployed, unable to live with us full-time, serving overseas or in bases where there was no family housing. I still keep it, to remind me of the sacrifices that my mother and others had to make, over and over again, as my father gladly served our country. I was proud to follow in his footsteps, serving as a Marine in Vietnam. My brother did as well, serving as a Marine helicopter pilot. My son has joined the tradition, now serving as an infantry Marine in Iraq.

Like so many other Americans, today and throughout our history, we serve and have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country. On the political issues – those matters of war and peace, and in some cases of life and death – we trusted the judgment of our national leaders. We hoped that they would be right, that they would measure with accuracy the value of our lives against the enormity of the national interest that might call upon us to go into harm's way.

We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed us – sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.

The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable – and predicted – disarray that has followed.

The war's costs to our nation have been staggering.

Financially.

The damage to our reputation around the world.

The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism.

And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.

The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.

On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.

Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.

Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves "as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other." And he did something about it.

As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. "When comes the end?" asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.
These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.

Thank you for listening. And God bless America.

It's Fitzmas! Opening Statements In Scooter Libby Trial Finger Cheney and Rove

Well finally it's Fitzmas! Just read the live blog from the trial written by Firedoglake.com and looks like Fitzgerald has taken off the gloves and is hitting hard. His scathing accusations of perjury against Libby are only the start. What is really news is how deep this whole shebang goes. Looks like Rove was a bit player and Cheney was the top dog on the whole disinformation project regarding Joe Wilson and his wife.

More soon.

Libby Testifies Cheney Source Of Leak - Destroyed Evidence

Oh the pigeons are coming home to roost! Scooter Libby testified under oath that Dick Cheney was the one who told him Valerie Plame was a CIA agent. To cover that fact up he even destroyed evidence, a note from Cheney regarding the issue.

What interesting news on the eve of the State of the Union. Seems like the state of this Union is pretty sad. We have a government rife with corruption and fraud and it goes all the way to the top.

I can only guess that in the next few days much more will come out regarding this case and perhaps the Democrats will grow the cajones to actually do something about it. Impeachment would be one option.