Michael Savage Hates on Immigrants

Here's what Michael Savage has to say about the resistant staph infections popping up around America:

We are told this is a new strain of staph. But the good doctors are either ignorant of epidemiology or afraid to tell the truth.Let us reason together.New, drug-resistant strains of bacteria appear in our hospitals over the past 10 years. Some are the result of over-use of antibiotics. But others are being brought into emergency rooms by the millions of illegal aliens who use our hospitals for primary care. Doctors, nurses and others then spread these "germs" throughout the hospital. And, of course, when illegals visit their relatives in the wards they also spread the gift that keeps on giving, drug-resistant staph infections. This is my own theory. I have an earned Ph.D. in epidemiology and human nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley (1978).

On his October 17th show, he follows it up with some DNA-famed Watson ideology that Africans are simply not as smart as white folk.

I'm not even going to touch the second half, but Dr. Epidemiology should have at least as much learning as Ricky Shambles, Armchair Scientist.

The DNA of the staph changes through natural mutation and has for millions of years. However, it has recently (in the last 50 years or more) come into contact with a heavy arsenal of antibacterial sterilization in hospitals and even in homes across America and the world. Any kid in an advanced high school Bio class can tell you that spreading bacteria on an agar plate laced with certain antibacterial or antibiotic will reveal bacteria that has a resistance to that antibacterial or antibiotic. After many bacterial generations proven through different antibiotics, you get a super-bacteria.

If you go to a foreign nation, you might get a different version of the bacteria. You might get the runs or throw up, perhaps be sick for several days and maybe even die. But not because of proper treatment gone bad. Savage bumped against this at the beginning of his diatribe, that even us liberals get stomach bugs when we travel. True.

But that's different bacteria, not super-resistant bacteria fostered in the corners of super-clean hospitals. The only reason the conquistadors killed so many was mostly due to viruses, and that was only because they carried strains of viruses that were completely new to the humans they encountered.

Not only does Michael Savage suggest that the different bacteria that might be brought into the country by illegal aliens is the super-bacteria, he suggests that they are doing it on purpose to dissolve our society. Not only does he not have a grasp on epidemiology, but he doesn't have a grasp on basic biology and evolution which Watson was a part of.

We are causing this, Michael. Rail against rampant use of antibacterial soaps and the unfortunate necessity of "clean rooms" during operations that save millions of Americans yearly, not illegal immigrants; the cause is basic biology, not your pseudo-racist ideology.

How To: Keep Your Bitches in Line

Because today's a little loopy, crackhead day (see: President Bush pisses off China and makes the Democrats smile by giving the Dali Lama a medal 'n' shit), I thought I'd include this bit I caught on G4TV.com:



Hellz yeah.

Cheese n Rice: Early Halloween!

It's not every day that the Secretary of State gets taken for a ride. But that's exactly what happened today at a meeting-slash-party in Bethlehem!

No sooner had Condoleezza Rice stooped out of the Door of Humility when everyone shouted "Surprise!" and she was in the middle of a week-early Halloween party.



Gracious as always, Ms. Rice joked that she "must've come as Secretary of State!" "And I'm Ariel Sharon!" added the lady...standing next to her. Looks like not only Jesus was born in Bethlehem - hilarity was too!

I'll tell ya, that Condoleezza is all lady and all class.

The Pope, The Pope, The Pope is on Fire!

This is the Pope. This is the Pope ironically manifesting as the preferred method of unjustified execution of thousands of women and men called demons, witches, and sorcerers since Jesus died. Yay!

The Vatican News Service says this is Pope John Paul II givin' a shout-out from the grave in the form of a fire elemental...or the Holy Spirit Huge Flame Tongue Power of Destiny Afterlife Proof MegaPackage. Of course. Dag, yo, JP2's got all da gear!



Also recently seen ...Babar.



And, of course, the classic desert Jesus figure.



WTF Vatican News?

Gay Vatican Official "Not Gay"

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick, for the love of Larry Craig! From the Yahoo:

A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man says he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work.

In an interview published Sunday, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico told La Repubblica daily he frequented online gay chat rooms and met with gay men as part of his work as a psychoanalyst. He said that he pretended to be gay in order to gather information about "those who damage the image of the Church with homosexual activity."

AP Image

For fuck's sake, look at the man! You don't even need to see video of him for a Level 5 Gaydar alarm (Beep! Beep! Dive! Dive! Going down!) - I can feel his eyes on my shoulders and my ass through the internets, his Italian sibilance echoes like a boy's choir in my ears longing to dash me on the rocks like the Siren daughters of Achelous, the cut of his jib longing for hot, steaming man meat.

But he was just pretending.

[Note: Homosexuality is not pedophelia and vice versa; please do not confuse the two. The Catholic Church demands celibacy, and for a high-ranking Vatican official to be trolling the internets for gay sex and using his office to caress a man's thigh is abuse of his station and his power. Denying it sticks him in the same closet as Larry Craig.]

He, above all, should know: If you're in the Vatican and going to "pretend" to be gay in some sort of top-secret save-the-world mission, you should probably document that somewhere, maybe with a superior, perhaps with the signature or mushroom stamp of the Pope. If not, you're just begging for it. And boy, was he begging for it.

You know what they say: If it looks like a duck and acts like a duck, it's probably a gay priest.

Wordpress Shuts Down the Free Speech

Today's OMG T'rr'rists! story comes from the NY Times:

An Internet Jihad Sells Extremism to Viewers in the U.S.

By MICHAEL MOSS and SOUAD MEKHENNET

When Osama bin Laden issued his videotaped message to the American people last month, a young jihad enthusiast went online to help spread the word.

"America needs to listen to Shaykh Usaamah very carefully and take his message with great seriousness," he wrote on his blog. "America is known to be a people of arrogance."

Unlike Mr. bin Laden, the blogger was not operating from a remote location. It turns out he is a 21-year-old American named Samir Khan who produces his blog from his parents’ home in North Carolina, where he serves as a kind of Western relay station for the multimedia productions of violent Islamic groups.

I know, I know, it's an outrage, get out of America, blah blah. It's ignorant, but it's free speech.

Or it was free speech. The article states that "there is nothing to suggest that Mr. Khan is operating in concert with militant leaders, or breaking any laws," but before the story hit this morning, Wordpress shut down the blog which a quick search reveals as http://ignoredknowledge.wordpress.com/ which says "This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service."

As a concerned citizen wary of any threats coming from any crazy, let alone a mouthpiece for jihad, I'm all for giving this guy the megaphone so everyone knows what he's doing, saying, and thinking, and if he's not breaking any laws, it is still free speech.

Nice job, Wordpress. WTF?

Saturday Whimsy: Scrips and ICUP

As I am not the invincible, indelible Übermensch that some readers may think I am (only on alternating Tuesdays), I thought I'd allow this little peek into my personal world. I have allergies. All of them. No food, no drug, but anything that produces pollen, dust, mold, or the salivary proteins on the dog and cat dander makes the underside of my chin itch, then sneezing, then watering, then misery (39/41 on the allergist scratch test - isn't that an A?).

Last trip to the allergist, I got a prescription that had this line (yes, they print them out now, oh heavenly technology):



I somehow don't think Mrs. Shambles will be pleased by the results of my rescue inhaler.

And then there's this wonderful bit of gas station drugstore merriment:



"What the hell is that?" you ask. Obviously, it's a drinking cup. Please allow me to elucidate:



Yes, it is, in fact, an envelope posing as a water-carrying device. It's "Another Innovative Idea for the 'People on the Go.'"

I don't know what marketing douchebag maintained a paycheck based on the idea of including an envelope with the overpriced allergy pills (alas, it was gas station Sudafed - not the good kind - that delivered to me that paper joy) when anyone with two hands can cup a gulp of water from the gas station sink (eww, I know) to take their meds, and anyone without two hands can't open the damn envelope (let alone the Sudafed packaging), and even if they do, how do they hold the envelope open if they don't have another hand to turn on the faucet?

As someone once said, these are the things I think about when I'm alone in the dark (reference needed).

Stupid allergies.

Hannity Shenanigans: War is Peace

[NOTE: This post has been updated with a 2 transcript pieces. Enjoy the headache.]

In today's Sean Hannity radio show, in a move meant to surprise no one, Hannity spends the first chunk of his show ignorantly hating on "undeserving Al Gore" and his wonderfully successful Nobel Peace Prize win. The logically retarded Hannity then goes on to ask his audience if we know who is deserving and nominates the brave American troops in Iraq.

Damn it, Sean, you ignorant douchebag. It is called the Nobel Peace Prize, and people who have illegally invaded a country (granted, by the order of Grand Dragon Asshat of the United States), killed thousands, and motivated insurgents to invade and kill thousands more are not fucking eligible!

SEAN HANNITY: Obviously the big news is Al Gore and the Nobel Peace Prize. You know, we ought to be proud. You know, sure he deserved it, about as much as Yassir Arafat deserved it - the terrorist (laughs). I'm sure he deserved it as much as Jimmy Carter deserved it - the incompetent one. Nobel Peace Prize are given to those who are considered outstanding in his field. I wonder which one of his three mansions had the field, of Al Gore. You know what the big question is, folks, nobody will ask him? I have it on good authority that Al Gore - within the last 48 hours - was seen getting off a private jet. In the last 48 hours; I don't know if it's true, we've got calls into all Gore's office, once again, but whenever Hannity calls, we don't get a response - what a shock - it's like Hillary Clinton's office. What do they do Sweet Baby James every time you call over there? They laugh, right, they pretty much laugh (laughs). We get the old Hillary laugh, showing the world that she's funny and happy. [Hillary laugh audio]

So here we've got Al Gore is the recepient of the Nobel Peace Prize a few years after Jimmy Carter was awarded the prize, same prize back in 2002. Basically we see a trend here: Norway's the place to go for failed Democratic politicians who want to recessitate their image by glomming on to the very bad policies that would damage their country. For Carter it was by embracing these anti-Israeli policies in his foreign policy. For Gore it was embracing anti-growth policies and this insane environmental extremism that he's bought into here. I guess both men have similarities: they both come from the South, they both have angry mean streaks [GORE: He betrayed this country, he played on our fears.] They have absolutely no grace out of office. They are very petty in their criticisms. They've got more radical and more extreme and more left wing after having left office. They're both bitter that their place in history is non-existant for the most part. They both win the Nobel Peace Prize for exactly that reason. You know why they win the Peace Prize? Let's be honest. For embracing the extreme left - that's what that Peace Prize is about. You got the Norwegian Nobel Committee made up of five persons who reflect the makeup of the Parliment. What a shock that they consistantly award people on the left. Prizes like this, they're meant to reward excellence; it's supposed to award achievement. It's too bad when those standards are cast aside in favor of advancing a leftist ideology. That's what's happened here, that's why at the end of the day, the Nobel Peace Prize is meaningless - absolutely, completely meaningless and it's also why the MoveOn.org mainstream media is going to make as big a deal about this as they possibly can. The American people utterly rejected Jimmy Carter and Al Gore. It's no surprise that they'd find a home in a committee that is characterized by its left-leaning ideology and its fierce opposition to real peace.

You want to talk about who deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, here's nominations: how about Ronald Wilson Reagan? How about George W. Bush? Those that believe that you should be the master of your own destiny, those that confront and defeat evil in their time. Those that use - How about Winston Churchill as a great example? Ohh, we can't - How about Harry Truman? How about FDR? How about those that recognize the forces of evil in their day?

What's ironic about this is - as we reported earlier this week - a British judge has ordered that when Al Gore's global warming hysteria film is shown to student audiences, it's now got to be accompanied by a warning that the film is a political propaganda film and riddled with false claims.
...[junk science, why the UN sucks]
The undeserving Al Gore, who had a press operation second to none, who flies around the world polluting the planet in his own big, old, fuel-consuming gulfstream, he gets the award. What about the troops in Iraq? How about the troops in Afghanistan? How about the troops all over the world that are really securing the peace for our country and millions of other people? They're treated like garbage by members of their own congress; they're treated like garbage in the international community. You know who deserves the Peace Prize? How about I nominate our brave men and women, our soldiers in Iraq? How about we nominate our soldiers in Afghanistan? The sad reality is that they'll never get the because it's become corrupted, political, meaningless, as evidinced by giving it to Jimmy Carter or Yassir Arafat or others who have done nothing for peace and frankly, through their weakness, quite the contrary, who have made the world a more dangerous place. It was Carter who brought us the Iranian people the Islamic fascist regime that now terrorizes the world.

Yes, that asshat just said "the Nobel Peace Prize is meaningless - absolutely, completely meaningless" and then proceeded to nominate people for the meaningless prize.

This is patriotism elevated to the level of absurdity, and it would be funny if it wasn't the terrifying, genuine thought process of someone with an audience of 12.5 million listeners per week. You could almost feel the small tremor of "Fuckin' A right!" reverberating through ignorant, conservative audiences across America.

UPDATE: Hannity's talking to Haditha Marine Justin Sharratt and his father about Rep. John Murtha's Haditha comments and how Justin was cleared of all charges. Hannity pledged to help in every way possible to aid Justin should he choose to run for U.S. Congress against Murtha (they're from the same voting district), stating "you're old enough to carry a Marine weapon," you can hold Congressional office.

SEAN: You know, you're in his district. You could run against him.
JUSTIN: That is a possibility.
SEAN: Would you consider that?
JUSTIN: If I was old enough, that is a good possibility -
SEAN: You're old enough. You're old enough to carry a Marine weapon, you're old enough.
...
SEAN: I'm going to make a promise to you, Justin, if you decide to do this, if you decide to run against John Murtha, I will do everything I can do to help you raise money and defeat him. I think the ultimate justice is, I believe the people in his district, if given the choice between somebody who is serving their country and is falsely accused, I think this could be an incred- I know you're a young man - how old are you?
JUSTIN: Twenty-three.
SEAN: You're twenty-three years old, but you know what? You have the strength and maturity - If you can go out in Iraq, in the streets of Hadditha, and withstand multiple IED attacks and sniper gun fire on a daily basis, you've proven you have the character, the toughness, the strength to take on John Murtha. And I can promise you that this audience will back you up and support you in every way imaginable, financially, we'll do everything - I'll give the maximum donation I can if you decide to do this.

Unfortunately for Sean and Justin, the Constitution of the United States of America states that you have to be 25 to hold office in the House of Representatives (30 for Senate, 35 to be President). Justin is 23. Then again, Sean Hannity doesn't read the Constitution.

Animated Excrement: The Bigot Coulter

I should be logging off.
I should be breathing deeply.
I should be putting down the gun.
I should be ignoring this.

But then I had to go and read Kate Chase's post mentioning that Jesus might even spit on Ann Coulter and got all riled up again. Media Matters has the transcript and terrifying video.

After saying Heaven would be like the 2004 Republican National Convention, she proceeded to discuss her own Bizarro America where everyone is a Christian, and these "perfected Jews" would exhibit amazing, super-human tolerance. Let's just take a snacking bite at some words from the mobile hellmouth:

COULTER: Well, OK, take the Republican National Convention. People were happy. They're Christian. They're tolerant. They defend America, they --

DEUTSCH: Christian -- so we should be Christian? It would be better if we were all Christian?

COULTER: Yes.

DEUTSCH: We should all be Christian?

COULTER: Yes. Would you like to come to church with me, Donny?

DEUTSCH: So I should not be a Jew, I should be a Christian, and this would be a better place?

COULTER: Well, you could be a practicing Jew, but you're not.

DEUTSCH: I actually am. That's not true. I really am. But -- so we would be better if we were - if people -- if there were no Jews, no Buddhists --

COULTER: Whenever I'm harangued by --

DEUTSCH: -- in this country? You can't believe that.

COULTER: -- you know, liberals on diversity --

DEUTSCH: Here you go again.

COULTER: No, it's true. I give all of these speeches at megachurches across America, and the one thing that's really striking about it is how utterly, completely diverse they are, and completely unself-consciously. You walk past a mixed-race couple in New York, and it's like they have a chip on their shoulder. They're just waiting for somebody to say something, as if anybody would.

I do believe she just alluded that it's okay to be black as long as you're not self-identifying yourself as black. As I said, this is just a sampling. Read the whole thing; it's worth the ten minutes and twenty Tums. And if you want the reality of megachurches, please see Jesus Camp (recommended one bottle of wine per person during the 90 minute viewing).

I do agree with Kate that Jesus would probably spit on her. But primarily, I see two major issues with Ann Coulter's Republican Christian Automaton America:

1. If Everyone in America were Christian Republicans, Ann Coulter would be the bag lady in the parking lot. The woman makes her living spouting stupidity and hate against anyone who is not a Conservative Christian would not be able to make a living in a world where everyone is Conservative and Christian


2. Converting the entire world with the broad Conservative Christian brush, it is a naive and foolish idea to believe that everyone would just get along at that point. Just as losing one sense amplifies the others, all the differences besides Christianity and Conservatism would become important: Christian sect (Catholic, Protestant, Presbyterian, etc.), race, intelligence, nationality, length of your nationality's dedication to Christ, length of personal dedication to Christ, favorite right wing nutjob radio host.
   
   Why? Because human nature dictates that we will glop together to form our identity by being part of different groups, and existing differences between people define different groups, which will define a facet or facets of their group distinction as superior out of an innate personal/group desire for self-preservation. That self-preservation raises walls and starts wars.

Coulter's perfect world simply doesn't exist; just like a heaven where everyone's praying and angels are singing and there's no conflict or progress, if ever did exist, it would be boring as hell.

Even in some alternate universe where there somehow exists an entire world full of Ann Coulters (terrifying because of, well, Ann Coulter, refreshing because the population would die out in one generation), differences in age, upbringing, geographic location, and even dichotomies in her own mind would cause rifts and sects and wars. Which gives rise to some satisfying imagery at the same exact moment that it degrades into a Photoshop.



My last stomach-curdling thought exercise: Ann Coulter is a vile, hate-seeping human being and because of her beliefs and demeanor alone, cannot be considered attractive under any circumstances. However, in some parallel universe where Ann Coulter was a well-spoken, intelligent liberal - maybe wore glasses - who consistently nailed the neoconservative base with poignant and pertinent attacks, do you think she could be hot?

Feel free to take a Google Image mental break if it becomes too much to get through the exercise.

All Things Democrat

Folks, I'm extending myself.

You may have heard of me on such blogs as All Things Democrat. Embarrassingly, it's been intermittent on the postings. But from now on, I'll be doing the daily thing there as well as what I do here. First on that list: Dennis Kucinich for president. Surprise.

No, no, now, now, don't worry: I will never surrender to EVIL, just like the president, and will not stop the quirky, lovely, deliciousness that is Cause for Concern.

I hearken back and paraphrase a cheezy cartoon my parents put up on the wall by Family Circle: "How do you divide your love amongst your blogs?" "I Don't divide it, I multiply it."

Love it long time, pay it attention. Specifically, Democratically political, and more than me.

Taiwan Not Gay for China

China's pointing 1000 missiles at Taiwan because it doesn't like that Taiwan has a separate identity. Taiwan (who likes their separate identity), in a show of military power, is parading 2 missiles along with the following show of strength:



Chippendales go Asian Baywatch? I don't even know what to say except that this is probably not the image they were going for.

Your captions welcome!

America Swindled on Own Embassy Building

From the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

Documents Show Extensive Flaws in Iraq Embassy Construction

Documents obtained by the Oversight Committee depict widespread defects in fire detection systems, fire service mains, fire sprinklers, fire-proof construction materials, and electrical wiring throughout the Embassy complex. Other documents implicate the Managing Partner of First Kuwaiti, the prime contractor, in an illegal kickback scheme to obtain subcontracts under the Army’s multi-billion logistical support contract.

Huh? Surely they're not talking about the U.S. Embassy in Iraq? From the official letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (excuse any typos - millions of dollars apparently cannot purchase the U.S. a decent character recognition software package either:

Dear Madam Secretary:
I am writing to raise new concerns about the State Department's $600 million U.S. Embassy in Iraq. On July 26,2007, the Committee held a hearing to review reports of numerous problems with the Embassy construction project. In particular, the Committee asked about allegations of substandard work by the prime contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Company, and whether problems with the fire protection systems, electrical systems, and power plant would delay the opening of the Embassy beyond its September 2007 completion
date and increase the costs to the taxpayer above the $592 million budget.

At the hearing, Maj. Gen. Charles Williams (Ret.), the Director of Overseas Building Operations (OBO) at the State Department, dismissed all of these concerns, stating emphatically:

I am pleased to report, Mr. Chairman, that the project is on schedule and on budget. We
are slated to complete the project in September of this year and personnel can begin to move into offices and residences shortly thereafter. As to project quality, OBO is proud of its employees and contractors work on this project. 'We have received numerous accolades as to the extremely high quality of construction. It is among the best that OBO has managed.

This weekend, however, it was disclosed that the Embassy construction project has gone $144 million over budget and the State Department has delayed its opening indefinitely.

We can't get a building - our main, keystone building - put together without a deadbeat contractor or a valid and accurate report on how that construction is going, but overextended troops without all the proper equipment and no end in sight are supposed to quell a 1400 year division in Islam, foster democracy, make our puppet government give a shit, and stop insurgents who continue to multiply and would gladly die specifically for a shot at the American troops, all without understanding their language(s) or culture(s).

When does the incompetence of the U.S. Government start shaking the shit out of people? Why is it taking this long?

Democrats Waver on Protect America Act Stance

The Protect America Act, passed in August amidst a rush to vacation and huge pressure from the NSA and Bush Administration, is up for permanency this week. And it looks like the Democrats are getting lazy. You remember the Democrats, don't you? That party that was voted into power almost a full year ago in the desperate hope of the American people that they would end the war in Iraq and stop the Bush Administration's runaway grip on the pseudo police state into which America is evolving.

The Protect America Act gives the National Security Agency much broader, more sweeping powers, specifically to wiretapping any foreign target (not just the terrorists) including those communications within the United States, all without a warrant. Remember FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that the Bush Administration was ignoring without accountability? The Administration is saying The PAA modernizes FISA; it's really making legal what they've been doing illegally all along and eliminating the basic - and obviously ineffective at that level - oversight that did exist.

And the icing on the cake? It provides immunity to telecommunications companies for illegally turning over private records whenever the Bush Administration deems that necessary: "It's illegal, but if you do it for us whenever we say, that's okay." It turns telecommunications companies into a private record clearinghouse encompassing all phone and internet use.

This is carte blanche for the president to wave his big terrorist stick and turn America into a police state. That little man in the White House is says we need to support the troops because they're fighting for our freedoms as he slowly strips them away.

And what are the Democrats doing? Eh, they're a little busy and they don't really have the votes. Democrats: get on the stick and get the votes; if you don't start doing something that drove you to power in congress, the American people will have gone full circle to high disillusionment with the Democratic Party by elections next year, and we'll be looking at Republican White House and Congress in January 2009.

Readers: As always, contact your local representatives. This is not popping out on the networks, and you won't hear about it locally, but it might rear its ugly head in the Repub debates this evening.

Expect notes on that tomorrow.

[UPDATE]: Don't expect notes on that right away - family emergency had me up until 2:30 without seeing the debate. Thank God for DVR. Now for the time to watch it.

[NOTE]: The above posting focuses specifically on what the Democrats hastily passed in August. The changes being unconvincingly discussed for this round include killing the immunity of telecommunications companies and the necessity of court approval for wire taps/eavesdropping. But then some asshat Repub comes out and says that this version protects Osama bin Laden, Democrats shiver, hem, haw, and "I just don't think we have the votes" drools from their numb lips. I want to see a fight, damnit!

The Bible: Let's Get Gay Straight

The Bible is a fantastic journey through generations of wisdom about how we should live our lives, from the Ten Commandments to Jesus' teachings. But some parts of the Bible can be a strange, meandering journey through what should or should not be done. My favorite book is Leviticus, specifically because it is often quoted by those seeking to demonize homosexuality:

Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. (Leviticus 18:22)

Okay, so gay people are not good, ostracization is the punishment, etc. God said so, just like he handed Moses the 10 Commandments.

My favorite juxtaposition? That would be Leviticus 19:19:

Keep my decrees.
Do not mate different kinds of animals.
Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

I don't know if different kinds of dog breeding count, but a Liger is totally off the map. Farmers should probably pay heed to the second one, violating God's law by diversifying their crops. And the third? Well, are you wearing a blend right now?

So wearing a cotton-rayon blend is on the list just under having gay sex (but it's only for men and doesn't count for women; God is either a rudimentary prude or likes girl-on-girl action).

Let's recap some more lovely quotes out of Leviticus:

Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. (Leviticus 7:23)

These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. (Leviticus 11:13-19)

Isn't a bat a mammal, and wouldn't God know that?

A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding. (Leviticus 12:2-5)

WTF God?

Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.
Do not practice divination or sorcery.
Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
(Leviticus 19:26-27)

Okay, this is a little out of control, but you get the point. Evangelical Christians believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God and, specifically, in Leviticus, it is the quoted Word of God. Read the whole thing; it gets much more detailed, and would be almost impossible to follow on a daily basis.

But some Christians state that Jesus' sacrifice put all those laws and sacrifices on the back burner. They are cherry-picking the Bible. Did Jesus ever say that? No.

I have no problem with cherry-picking the Bible for the good parts that help make many people of the world better people, but if you're going to personally decide or allow your governing religious organization decide what God means and what we, as humans, should follow, then do it all or none. Either God said it or He didn't. Either every word is important or isn't. Live the way you want to, but never, never condemn others because they live differently. Treat others the way you would like to be treated and judge not, lest ye be judged. And stop turning hate into a religious family value.

And next time you proudly hold up the sign stating "God Hates Fags," check the tag on your shirt, because cotton-polyester blends are right up there. Queer.

Hillary Releases Ad, Rudy Twitches

Check it:



Rudy Giuliani is shaking in his 9/11 dust-stained loafers. He's pissed. Why? Because there is a picture of Hillary Clinton wearing a dust mask apparently in New York City at some point soon after 9/11. The ad is uncalled for; as everyone knows, Rudy Giuliani has already obtained copyright on the phrase "9/11" in number or number word format. This obviously precludes anyone from mentioning 9/11, talking about the attack on September 11th, or even suggesting that they were there; for all intents and purposes, Rudy Giuliani was the only human being in the state of New York on September 11th, 2001, the only person offended by the destruction, and the only human being to suffer because of the attacks (I am actually in violation just trying to explain the rights involved). Patent pending on "pain and suffering."

Unfortunately, six years later, Giuliani has failed to remotely give a shit about any of the brave Americans who were selfless enough to run to the scene to help recover and clean up; many of these people have developed chronic breathing and other health disorders because of the mishandling of the health threat by Giuliani and his administration.

I'd like to be clear that only Dennis Kucinich's plan for health care in America - universal not-for-profit - is the only version I fully support. However, even Hillary's health care plan would do a better job than any of the industry-owned republican candidates "eh, we just gotta tweak it a little."

I heard some hubbub on Friday, but I do believe it will turn into the full-frontal right wing JizzFest by Monday.

Hey, did'j'y'all hear about Giuliani not being fit for Holy Communion because of his beliefs on abortion rights? Technically, the multiple divorce thing would also disqualify him with those wacky Roman Catholics.

Obama's Lapel and the Right Wing JizzFest

Barack Obama has offended Right Wing America because he is not wearing an American Flag lapel pin. Unsurprisingly, Drudge brought it out as a headline, reporting something to the effect of Obama ditching his pin. How about we let Senator Obama do the talking? From Media Matters report on the hysteria:

OBAMA: Somebody noticed I wasn't wearing a flag lapel pin and I told folks, well you know what? I haven't probably worn that pin in a very long time. I wore it right after 9/11. But after a while, you start noticing people wearing a lapel pin, but not acting very patriotic. Not voting to provide veterans with resources that they need. Not voting to make sure that disability payments were coming out on time.

My attitude is that I'm less concerned about what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. And you show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who served. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and our ideals and that's what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals.

So what's the big deal? If I actually owned an American flag, it would be upside down in my library because in naval terms, flying a flag upside down is a signifier of distress. It only makes sense that you allow your actions to speak for themselves or, as Big Man Jesus put it, "Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:20). Not by possessions, not by lapel pins, but by their fruit, their actions. That's pretty much what Barack said.

Not the least bit surprising is the beginning of Matthew 7:

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

I do believe that would relate directly to Mr. Hannity, as he is pissing all over Barack's pin-less lapel but has apparently forgotten his patriotism in the jewelry box at home.

In what conscience, on what planet is it okay for someone to directly criticize someone for not doing something that they themselves are not doing? How did we get to the point where a symbol like the American Flag has replaced the practice of patriotism, where a pin is the signifier of loyalty?

I give kudos to Senator Obama; in my experience, it is those that want President Bush to determine how we should live, fight, and accept surveillance - and not those who embrace the freedom to which we are entitled and the freedom to disagree - who plant 500 flags in their front yards and occlude the back window of their pickup with the rippling red, white and blue.

[Side note: Hey, asshole, stop pasting the "These colors don't run" bumper sticker on your car; pink and powder blue only enforces the addendum "they slowly fade away." Second note: I can unequivocally confirm that almost 100% of the jackholes who cut me off and drive like ass support the troops. How suck is that?]

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

The Pentagon's Shady Money Counters

From WCSH, we get the story of the 2600 members of the Minnesota National Guard who have returned after the longest ground combat deployment in Iraq since the war began: 22 months. Unfortunately, they came back to discover that the Pentagon, under the watch of our Commander-in-Chief, shimmied through a loophole and specifically wrote most of their orders for 729 days. Why 729 days? Because at 730 days, the government has to pay for certain benefits, including money for schooling.

This is one of those stories that should make everyone very angry. Right wing radio hosts and FOX News question the patriotism of any person - such as myself - who wants to end this retarded excuse of a war and bring the troops home; they say we don't support the troops because we want them home, safe.

And there sits our military, the same military that has these kids shipped halfway across the world, that has many of them convinced they're fighting to protect America's freedoms as the President slowly strips them away, training these kids, these men, to be highly specialized killers and/or technically training them to fill a very specialized niche that only exists in war, and when they come back and have done their duty, served their country, and want nothing more than to get some civilian training and be a productive member of society, that military, under the watch of President George Bush, says "fuck you," kicks them in the balls, and lays a hot, steamy turd in their MRE because they're too busy shitting away our money on unaccountable contractors and missing money and thought it would be a good idea to save a buck by taking it out of a soldier's ass.

That is unpatriotic. That is not supporting the troops. That is one of the most deplorably pathetic moves I've heard our asshat government make in quite a while. That is our government. That is one more reason why the mess in Iraq must end. And may god have mercy on the soul of our country should Gerogie Porgie decide to pick a fight with Iran.

Phone Salesman Sings Opera

I don't ever post something I get as an interwork/interfriend email, but here it is. I'm not entirely sure why this affects me so, but I watched the 4 minute clip and just wept. Wept like a schoolgirl.

Paul Potts, you are fucking brilliant.



[Alternate YouTube Link]

And not as fully emotional, but still a jerker, part 2:



[Alternate YouTube Link]

UPDATE:
Bad blogger. How did I miss this?

And the winner is...



[Alternate YouTube Link]

7 Straight Nights for Equal Rights

From the Kucinich folks:

Between October 7 and October 13, 2007, straight people across the nation will "come out" as supporters of equal rights for the gay and lesbian community in America.

From Seattle to Montgomery, Alabama; Phoenix to Augusta, Maine; Duluth to Houston, Texas, overnight vigils will light up American cities, providing support and visibility to heterosexual men and women who have the courage and conviction to stand up for their gay and lesbian friends and neighbors.

This movement, dubbed Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights, was initiated by Soulforce and Atticus Circle, two Texas-based organizations with members across the nation. With their leadership, straight community leaders are organizing vigils in 30 or more communities around the country.

These courageous community leaders are telling their elected officials and the media that "equality is not a gay issue, not an urban elite issue, not an East Coast or a West Coast issue -- it's an American issue, and Seven Straight Nights is making Americans' support for lesbian and gay equality visible as never before."

We urge you to join this movement. Please go to
http://www.sevenstraightnights.org/ and find a vigil near you. Plan to attend, and contact the organizers to find out how you can help.

As you know, our campaign unequivocally supports full marriage equality, and our health plan, HR 676, will provide full AIDS treatment to all U.S. residents.

So please support these important vigils. Wear your T-shirts, bring your signs, and let the nation know that not only is the Kucinich campaign the campaign of civil and human rights, but the Kucinich campaign team is far ahead when it comes to standing strong with the LGBTQ community.

In peace, and justice,

Dennis and Elizabeth

Do this.

Dennis Kucinich on PBS

Watch this. And understand why this is the only person I could possibly vote for in the primaries.



[Alternative YouTube Link]

Amen.

HP Misconstrues Technology Misquote

Intel Co-Founder, Gordon Moore, stated that the number of transistors you can inexpensively place on an integrated circuit will double about every two years. This is known as Moore's Law. This relates to processing speed, memory capacity, and computer hardware of that nature.

Unfortunately, Moore's Law is often misquoted as doubling every 18 months.

And sometimes that 18 months rule is linked to something that is completely unrelated to the original prediction. And you get an HP ad:



Along with saying the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle explains that the observer affects the nature of what is being observed, Moore's Law misquotes are up there on my list of pet peeves. Pop culture rapes again.

Betavoltaic Shmetavoltaic: Suckas!

A laptop battery that will last 30 years? The story itself lives on the blood of common sense.

Two days ago, I caught a BoingBoing Gadget post about the Betavoltaic Battery. The story originates from NextEnergy News and says:

Your next laptop could have a continuous power battery that lasts for 30 years without a single recharge thanks to work being funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The breakthrough betavoltaic power cells are constructed from semiconductors and use radioisotopes as the energy source. As the radioactive material decays it emits beta particles that transform into electric power capable of fueling an electrical device like a laptop for years.

Amazing? You bet. BoingBoing's admonition? Horseshit!

My thoughts exactly.

As Joel Johnson noted, if the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory was seriously working on something this commercially viable, something we'd see on store shelves in 2 to 3 years, they'd probably have it on the front page of their website. A deeper search reveals the term "betavoltaic" appears nowhere on their site.

At this point, horseshit is close, but it gets soupier and nastier than that. A brief search of betavoltaic reveals how deep the poop chute goes. A shady company called Betavoltaic Industries, American Antigravity touting the technology, and a handful of other "free energy" sites. A couple voices of reason ring out: Eric Krieg and Shawn Bishop illuminate the junk science, misunderstandings, and purely theoretical basis of the technology. Crunch Gear calls it a classic pump and dump scheme.

[Side note: what good is a laptop battery that lasts 5-6 times as long as the usefulness of the laptop? When was the last time you could switch out a battery from one laptop to another, newer version? Manufacturers consolidating and standardizing, perhaps? Have you ever tried to charge your phone, maybe home for the holidays, where there are seven or eight different chargers and not one fits? Exactly like that.]

Why am I putting such effort into something so obviously untrue? Because the good people at SciFi Tech should know better. It's only a matter of time before it makes Headline News. The retraction will be aired once at 5am. And then that asshat at work who's always wrong about everything will nonchalantly sneer at you charging your cellphone and say "you know, in two years, you'll never have to do that again. The Air Force is makin' a 30 year battery." And then you can donkey punch him. Verbally, figuratively, of course.

Giuliani Choses Money Over Honor

On September 27th, PBS held a debate at the historically Black Morgan State University in Baltimore. Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson decided to wave it off, apparently because the Republican record in regards to the African American community is so damned shiny that it can withstand not only lack of concern, but four slices of snub. Seriously. This is an upswing with minority voters; the Univision GOP debate was canceled due to lack of candidate interest.

And hacks like Hannity attack Democrats for not doing enough to earn the minority vote. Showing up would be a start.

Then there is the sting of the reality of what exactly a "schedule conflict" means. Here's dirty Giuliani's version:



[Alternate YouTube Link]

Notes on the Dartmouth Democratic Debate

On September 25th, MSNBC held a Democratic debate. I know I'm running a few days (ahem, a week) late on this one, but there's something refreshing about going through the notes again, living it again, remembering the nuance so that it doesn't just fade away - although the next one is coming up in less than 3 weeks. This is pretty much blow-by-blow-by-subject, so feel free to skim for the juicy bits or skip to the end for main commentary. Let me know if I left anything (or anyone) out.

Remember, these are my notes and sometimes relate to my impressions of the response and not necessarily the content therein.

General Petraeus

• Obama: Sometimes all I can hear are the "uh"s. He's getting better, but if he's going to be a serious contender in the next couple months, he's got to straighten that out.


• Clinton: Well spoken.


• Edwards: "all of our combat troops" does not include everyone, does it?


• Richardson: Get 'em out! Yay!


• Dodd: We have the "power of the purse," so why aren't we using it?


• Biden: Mr. Biden, this is way different than Bosnia.


• Kucinich: 2007? "ready to be president today." Bad bobble. Nice catch.


• Gravel: Did he just say "scruff of the neck"? Did he just say "Fantasyland"? You have me caught between "Hell yeah!" and "what the hell?"


• (Side: Kucinich: You're just splitting up Iraq.) Exactly.

Iran & Israel

• Clinton: This is where Tim Russert gets pwned. She will answer the way she wants and there ain't no man strong enough to shut her down. Who's running this shindig? Chris Matthews talks later about Hillary's Leash. See Tim for its location.


• (Side: Kucinich: I'll answer it!) If they asked him the same amount of questions, this would be funny.


• Obama: Bluh bla blah blorg - no answer


• Edwards: [Ah-mahn-EE-di-jad] "cannot be trusted." Perhaps he needs Bush's pronunciation guides.


• Richardson: Likewise, but [Ah-mah-DEE-ni-jad]

Sanctuary Cities

• Richardson: He's Hispanic like Giuliani's 9/11: Part of them, but not campaigning on it, but always talking about it.


• Biden: Bush is the most uninformed person in foreign policy. Poignant and accusatory. Excellent. Smile. Don't have a laugh.


• Dodd: The president is wrong. Good job. Biden did one better.


• Kucinich: We are misdirected.


• Obama: Bluh bla blah blorg - no answer


• Clinton: Bluh bla blah blorg - no answer


• Gravel: Did you just say we're failing in spending our treasure? Aarrgh, matey!

Hillary, Mistakes, & Sideshoots

• Dodd: Something about Mission Accomplished.


• Hillary: (health care) "with a different plan," "what Americans want." No, Kucinich has what Americans want: not-for-profit health care.


• Biden: It's hard for Hillary. That's cute. I'm sure she appreciates it.


• Edwards: You'll lose your health care. What was he talking about? I was sipping wine.


• Obama: "Take on special interests and win!" Except for the insurance industry. They apparently have his nuts in a box somewhere near Zanesville, OH.


• Gravel: Did you just say we should stick the bill to the credit card companies?


• Kucinich: Good job getting the record straight on Cleveland; not all good, but a lot of good.


• Richardson: He's right in between Obama and Clinton: if they had a baby, it wouldn't be a mulatto, but a Hispanic! Actually, it makes sense.

Same Sex Education

• Edwards: "Nobody made me God," education's okay, but not the practice.


• Obama: Has he? No: "My wife has." And the American public will hone in on what you are "feeding them." A little New World Order speak a little too early.


• Clinton: We need to Bluh bla blah blorg - no answer

Social Security and Medicare

• Biden: Raise the 99K cap


• Clinton: Did you just say "dissing"? No, Tim, you shut the hell up.


• Obama: Lift the cap.


• Dodd: We need pensions, financial literacy. Right on.


• Richard: Fiscal discipline.


• Edwards: Blah, difference, middle class, blah, 97K - 200K shield. Huh?


• Kucinich: Wall Street privatization, lower retirement age to 65.


• Dodd: Let's bring people together.


• Clinton: We're doing that.

National Smoking Ban (note: Pat Buchanan is a douchebag)

• Clinton: Local level.


• Obama: Local level.


• Kucinich: I've been breathing in a lot of second-hand smoke.

Drop Legal Drinking Age

• Biden: No, drinking's bad, blah blah MAD


• Dodd: Alcoholism! Bad! Smoking!


• Richardson: We need to look at rehabilitation and research.


• Gravel: If they can die for our country, they can have a drink, damnit. Amen to reason.


• Kucinich: A-OK: we need to trust in America's youth. Okay, so we have two people supporting the troops. Anyone else?

Lightning Round

• (Side on "Now to the lightning round" Gravel: "We never got to the real round.") True dat.


• Obama: [turn the page] divisive politics, blah, bloorrgghhhhkkhh.


• Clinton: [Bush/Clinton Dynasty] Stand her own ground, blah, blah.


• Biden: [MoveOn.org Charge] Yes.


• Kucinich: [Gas above $3.00/gal] Hell no. Choosing a president who wants to effect change "or have a president who's tall." Brilliant.


• Gravel: [Gas] Get 'em off gas, oh, it's your 30.


• Dodd: [Temp ban on China] Hell yeah!


• Obama: [Jena 6] I was in Iraq, made a statement...wait. Is this 'cause I'm black?


• Richardson: [Boy Scouts Gay Ban] Accept that? No.


• Obama: [Back to Iraq] Who the hell's ranting?

Nuclear Power

• Edwards: No nuclear power.


• Obama: Nuclear power is okay.


• Kucinich: We have better ways - solar and wind.


• Gravel: Wind!


• Clinton: Against nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain.

Torture?

• Obama: No torture.


• Biden: Torture was possibly responsible for our faulty Iraq info.


• Clinton: No torture. (but Bill?) "He's not standing here right now." Nice.


• Dodd: It's a dreadful way to collect information.


• Richardson: Having to deal with terrorists "doesn't mean we become like terrorists."


• Clinton on Hsu (blah), Obama, donor building, Edwards was poor when he was a kid stop talking about his haircut. Not worth 3 separate points.

Fav Bible Quote?

• Obama: Sermon on the mount.


• Clinton: Golden rule.


• Gravel: That thing about love.


• Kucinich: St. Francis, instrument of peace


• Edwards: What you do the least...


• Richardson: Sermon on the mount. (Obama: Stop copying me!)


• Dodd: Good Samaritan


• Biden: Warning of the Pharisees

Red Sox or Yankees

• Obama: Sox are the wrong color. Something veiled there...


• Kucinich: Indians! Yay!

First summary note - never again
I will never do this again. I thought an answer-by-answer shot of the debate would have some merit, some posterity. I was wrong. Only 20% of the debate was noteworthy and therefore 20% of the above scratch is noteworthy. I believe an overview of my personal thoughts on the main points with some quotes is more enjoyable for me (it won't take me a week to trod through it) and more enjoyable for you to read. An experiment gone bad. A lesson learned.

Bill Tossing Confusion
For that thin slice of the population tuning in for the cavalcade of debates scheduled in order to get a better feel for the candidates, many probably don't have a full comprehension of the voting history of the candidates, specifically as it relates to voting for the war, voting to fund the war, etc. And to get the reference to H.R. 1400 (further sanctions on Iran, condemn any presence in Iraq, controversial because it did not include language forbidding the president from invading Iran without Congress's expressed approval), which was voted on (and passed) the day of the debate, you've got to be relatively well-steeped in politics. Should the topic be avoided? No. But Tim Russert should've done a better job clarifying.

I really don't have anything else. The questions were distributed on a scale related to how much money the candidate had raised for their campaign. It's like a student council election: you get the distinct feeling that some of them want it because they know they can get it and some want it to pad their resume. The one or two kids who actually want to change things for the better don't have the Prom Queen points, so they get ignored.

Sorry, a little disillusioned about the election today.

Kucinich Looks Like a Million Bucks

From the good folks at the Kucinich campaign:

We reached our goal of $300,000 for the month and our goal of $1,000,000 for the quarter.

Our numbers keep going up. Contributions have increased every quarter. This means more people are becoming aware of Strength through Peace and how these policies can improve their lives and our country.

Some of the other candidates, those with the absence of Dennis Kucinich's passion, raised more, but people are starting to peel off the numbing throng to look around and say "Hey, what's going on over there? Everyone's getting heard. I can smell change and - ooh! Corn dogs!" Or something like that.

He made it to $1,000,000. And I helped!

John McCain Are Ig'nant

Let's backtrack to Saturday with a little John McCain, as I'm falling behind on the blogging as of late (I've still got to get last week's Dem notes up, sheesh!) I know, get on the stick.

While he did later qualify his political gaffe with "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and to defend our political values," he clearly stated that "...I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith" and that Christianity is "an important part of our qualifications to lead."

I see Obama catch flack for spending a couple years of his childhood in a Muslim country and Romney being singled out as Mormon; I understand that if a Muslim were to run for president, he'd probably be assassinated by the Religious Right, but that doesn't mean a Muslim is automatically disqualified solely by religion. And anyone who would say such is illuminating their ignorance of America, like saying it's acceptable to give up rights to preserve America when without those rights we lose the core and heart of what makes us America.

Can I get some good sense?

"That kind of attitude goes against the American tradition of religious pluralism and inclusion," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Thank you. At least someone remembers what we're supposed to be about.

But the real gem? Read it and weep:

"I admire the Islam. There's a lot of good principles in it,...."

I spent one year teaching 10th and 12th grade English. This level of linguistic acumen is representative of some of the worst case scenarios in writing and/or speech.

At least he's not running for president. Oh, shit. Wait.

Six Nuns Excommunicated

From CNN.com:

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Six Catholic nuns have been excommunicated for heresy after refusing to give up membership in a Canadian sect whose founder claims to be possessed by the Virgin Mary, the Diocese of Little Rock announced.

The Rev. J. Gaston Hebert, the diocese administrator, said he notified the nuns of the decision Tuesday night after they refused to recant the teachings of the Community of the Lady of All Nations, also known as the Army of Mary.

Let's play What's Crazier:

1. The Catholic Church is still using excommunication (i.e., God said "I'm not gonna be your friend anymore.")
2. There's a cult leader who claims to be possessed by the Virgin Mary.
3. Nuns from Arkansas believe the Canadian crackpot.
4. There is any group anywhere that goes by the name "Army of Mary."

Personally, I'd like to see the Army of Mary, the Kiss Army, the Salvation Army, and Dick Armey have at it with a fierce couple rounds of Hungry Hungry Hippos. And then the cat o' nine tails comes out. Absolute madness.

The Democratic Debate: Global Warming?

I was just outside, at the end of September, at night, smoking a cigarette without a shirt on (yeah, I'm all kinds of hot) and I was wondering why I was able to be outside at the end of September, without a shirt, smoking a cigarette.

Why did the debate I just watched not touch on the issue of global warming?

I know a hot day (or days, or weeks) does not define an issue. But, hell. Why not?

(Three pages of) notes tomorrow, but the real issues weren't necessarily hit, and some of the ones that were (today's congressional vote) weren't explained to those that aren't politiphiliacs.

Certain note: Tim Russert was pwned by Hillary. When does he get the ball gag?

Goodnight.

[PREH - zuh - dent] at the UN

From USA Today's On Deadline:

Apparently, a marked-up draft of the president's speech popped up on the U.N.'s website as President Bush delivered his remarks this morning before the General Assembly, USA TODAY's David Jackson reports. The draft included phonetic spellings of some names and countries, and the cellphone numbers for Bush speechwriters.

Press secretary Dana Perino downplayed the incident, and said phonetic spellings are used to help interpreters. Asked if the president has trouble pronouncing some country's names, Perino deemed it "an offensive question."
...
Blake Hounshell at Foreign Policy says he has a copy of the speech that got the White House so worked up this morning. Here are some of the phonetic guides it included, according to the magazine's blog:

• Kyrgyzstan [KEYR-geez-stan]
• Mauritania [moor-EH-tain-ee-a]
• Harare [hah-RAR-ray]
• Mugabe [moo-GAH-bee]
• Sarkozy [sar-KO-zee]
• Caracas [kah-RAH-kus]

Hahaha. Brilliant. Classic "Bush is not a smart man" fodder. And while funny, relatively "meh." So why am I writing about it? The article also offers up the link to the UN speech that it was replaced with:



My question is whether President Bush needs the "PRESIDENT BUSH:" in front of his speech to remind him not to read the top part or to remind him who he is.

Glenn Beck + Mahmoud Ahmadinejad = 4 Evar

Glenn Beck's show yesterday placed a spotlight on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speaking at Columbia.

At two different times, the font read "Iran Rhetoric" and "Propaganda Play."

Do you think Glenn Beck realizes that in blowing up the visit he is spouting the Bush administration's own rhetoric against Iran, that in calling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a propaganda hound that he is playing the Bush administration's propaganda meat whistle against Iran (and, really, towards war with them)?

Ah, my dear, sweet irony: not such the fickle mistress as the whore.

Kucinich Shut Out: AARP Debate

I didn't watch the AARP Democratic Debate on Health Care; I was most likely enjoying a cocktail and a reggae band.

However, I was appalled to find out that my man, Dennis Kucinich, was not included in the debate. More from Dennis:

On September 21st, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) sponsored a Presidential forum in Iowa focused on health care reform. I was conveniently left out of the debate. Why? Because I am the only candidate in this race proposing a national not-for-profit, single-payer health insurance plan. My plan would eliminate the obscene profit of 4.4 billion dollars AARP alone stands to gain over the next 7 years at the expense of the senior citizens they claim to represent.

AARP's strategic partnership with healthcare giants United Health Care and Aetna are embraced by Senators Clinton, Obama, and former Senator Edwards who are pushing plans to keep the for-profit private insurers in business and in control of your life!

This is an outrage and you should be outraged!

Hells yeah!

You can contact AARP on the AARP Issues Contact Page or You can "Share Your Story" about health care on the Divided We Fail page (I did both):

Here's a story: AARP held a presidential debate on health care reform but did not invite the only candidate that supports a not-for-profit system, Dennis Kucinich. AARP chose their partnerships with health care insurance providers over dissenting opinion, chose money over the well being of the American people, and denied the only voice that would truly help retired persons across the board. AARP states they "are committed to helping the most vulnerable members of society maintain or improve their quality of life." This is blatantly untrue. Health insurance companies have already divided you. And you have failed.

We're on the morning of the next debate, but it's never too late to let the powers that be know we're a little pissed.

Beckett for Babies