Giuliani Pulls Out, Impregnates McCain

Happy Birthday to me, and over 2 weeks early! That's right, Rudy Giuliani, the wooden-toothed professional crooner of 9/11 and all-round smug failure is prepared to pull out of the presidential race this very morning before the last Republican debate before Super Bowl Sunday and Super Tuesday. I think that somehow makes today the Ascension of Mary and places Mardi Gras firmly on the biggest primary day of the year, guaranteeing a slight booze shift to the polls and complete confusion amongst the pundits. Again. But I digress.

What could possibly make this better? Irony, of course! Rudy Giuliani will be making this announcement from the Reagan Library (where the debate will later take place), the living symbol of the dry-hump chew toy darling of the Republican Party, in order to endorse Grandpappy McCain, the only Republican running for president who - according to pundits and the talk radio faction and many Repubs - is not a Reagan Republican. Ooh, snap!

But why McCain? I can't wait for Rudy's blah-blah explanation but would like to take a pass on hearing Chris Matthews spout "Maverick" yet again. John McCain is not Tom Cruise or James Garner or Mel Gibson; it's John McCain, not John McClane, Chrissy. Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!

McCain's playing the game, and he's playing it well, despite his detractors on flip-flopping, inconsistency, and age. He's got Giuliani's support now and there are hints that he's going to help fluff Huckabee through Super Tuesday to keep the votes away from Romney and cinch up the nomination like his momma's corset. Can we smell a McCain Huckabee ticket? Someone light some incense; I think I'm gonna be sick.

Human Rights Campaign: Resolve

It took them quite a long time to get back to me with the embed code, but this video on human rights in America is still very relevant. From the Human Rights Campaign:

Ricky's Wisdom Today

Well, it's not particularly my wisdom per se, but wisdom that resonates with me on some level. Since the world is constantly changing and reality is always a subjective experience, it's just the wisdom "today," though feel free to hold on until something better comes along. And since it's the first installment, you get some bonus Wisdom action, because how can I introduce something new without the very roots and favorites of that something?

Now that's wise.

Today I ran into this quote and it just felt right: focused, yet sad.

Going along in company together, a wise man
Must mix with other foolish persons.
But on seeing what is wrongful he abandons them.
As a full-fledged heron leaves the marshy ground.

-Udana 8.7

Bonus? Of course. These are perhaps my most cherished quotes when it comes to my personal ideas about wisdom:

One who speaks does not know
One who knows does not speak

-- Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching - Verse 56

I know I am God because when I pray to Him I find I am speaking to Myself.

--Peter Barnes

Put dat in your book.

Gang Bang Jesus

"I did it like this. I did it like that. I did it with a wiffle ball bat."

I was doing a search this afternoon on de money gang bang for a single reference in a little post over at ATD.

On the first page of image results, I saw this:



So my question to you is: Is Jesus helping a kid play baseball more absurd than finding the image while searching for de money gang bang, or do they combine in a sociological, post-modern mental clusterfuck that cannot truly be comprehended by our human brains without an advanced degree in philosophy and a bottle of Jameson?

Kucinich Withdraws from Presidential Race

Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

(Okay, a little overly dramatic.)

In order to focus on his Congressional re-election in November and due to very little in the way of voter support, Dennis Kucinich has pulled his name from the hat that is the Democratic Race for President. The only candidate who staunchly and always opposed the war and funding for the war - strength through peace, the only candidate who understood the evils of insurance company rule and pushed for the only not-for-profit healthcare plan, is gone from the national stage.

I'd tell you what he said in his speech, but he barely touched upon Iraq on Headline News - about 20 seconds into speaking - when they cut away. No other news station was carrying the speech or announcement.

I'd like to give you a link, but none of the news stations are reporting it, even though CNN had it's "World's End" red banner up half an hour before Fred Thompson dropped out.

No more media outlets have to vigorously work with lawyers to silence dissenting opinion, but even as he pulls out, the media have to be dicks about it.

I hope one of the three still running learned something from him, but their silence on his exclusion raises no hopes of that. And now I have to pick one of them before Ohio. This is going to take a lot of wine.

When Google's Parents Leave Home

Here's a bit from Cracked about the internets! Yay!

Military Misses Recruiting Goals Again in 2007

From NationalPriorities.com:

For the third consecutive year, the Army missed DoD benchmarks set for educational attainment and scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. The DoD has a goal that 90 percent of new recruits have a regular high school diploma or better.

...The proportion of active-duty Army recruits in tier 1 has dropped from 83.5 percent in 2005 to 70.7 percent in 2007. While the benchmark of 90 percent was also missed in 2005, the percentages have not been this low for at least 20 years. In 2006, the result was 73.1 percent.

Nevada with 54.1 percent, Montana with 58.2 percent, and Mississippi with 59.2 percent had the lowest percentages of recruits that were tier 1.

Considering that a high school education is the single greatest predictor of whether the investment we put in these young men and women will stick, perhaps we should take a good, hard look at the reasons people don't want to go: they're entering an endless war without the right equipment where Bushie can write "As long as I want" on their contract, regardless of what they signed. If they get physically hurt, they'll get poor care, and if they're psychologically affected by killing and seeing friends and enemies die, you'll be ignored.

Hey, maybe if we stopped feeding the military industrial complex our young men like logs into a wood chipper, fighting a war we can't win for the benefit of corporations, then maybe we wouldn't have this problem. Maybe we could focus on getting the young man or woman a GED instead of worrying that they don't have one before giving them a weapon and tossing them in the shit. Just a thought.

Notes on the Democratic South Carolina Debate, Jerry Springer and All

Honestly, at the beginning of the debate when Wolf declared that they were going to "get a real conversation going," I laughed out loud. If I only knew.

As we get down to brass tacks and Kucinich is left in the silent dust of the media deciding who we need to hear from, this review of the debate is a little more critical, especially when it comes to sunshine and roses promises and ideas.

Here's your bullets:

• Hillary's repeated call for a "moratorium" on foreclosures for 90 days: I'm calling BS. She's not going to get anything done any time soon, so it's a short-lived call for false hope for the very few people that would benefit from it; you can give a horse 90 days but that doesn't mean that they'll work things out to keep their house. Part of this foreclosure issue is that some people are not responsible enough to simply pick up the phone and try to work it out with the bank. Feeding someone 90 days will not stimulate responsibility. Some people simply shouldn't own a home.


• Someone who has and in with the Edwards campaign, please direct him to take off that eyesore of a watch; it distracted me from the already-minuscule time he was able to get his mug on screen.

Item! Upcoming Notes from Ricky Shambles

It's always good to have something to look forward to. Actually, the posts are upcoming, not the notes. Sorry for the disappointment. Well, the notes are technically upcoming, but right here. Now. Really, just below this sentence.

1. More Debate Notes Just because you can't stomach it doesn't mean you can't enjoy the gems that fall from the verbal feces on both sides! I, your loyal reporter, will be constantly monitoring the schedules, vigorously viewing the Democratic and Republican debates, and coming back to you with only the essentials. Next installment: Tomorrow. Enjoy and thank the higher power you are not me.

2. World Net Daily's January Witch Hunt I was floating about the WND site - because I'm a romantic and I need pain in my life - when my eye spied a wonderfully fey, made-up woman looking something out of A Midsummer Night's Dream or Legend and the heavy title "Witchcraft in America." It's WND's WTF January Whistleblower. Looks like some of the basic conservative rhetoric explaining that Christians think Wicca is the devil while leaving out the part of Christianity's devil-ing of anything pagan starting some 1900 years ago while only flirting with aspirations of becoming an imperialistic religion. Seems it's even more terrifying now, though, because soldiers - God help us, soldiers - are worshiping overseas (implied: Christians > Muslims > Pagans). Anyway, I'll be chipping in my $7.50 for you, yes, you, so I can read it, become outraged, and you, too can be outraged and save almost $10. That's the kind of guy I am.

3. Best to Come: Creation Museum Holy crap, I found out in the last month or two that, here in Cincinnati, I live a river crossing from one of the biggest and bestest and well-funded Creation Museums in the region. I giggle at the prospect and get butterflies knowing that in the next 3 weeks, I will be attending, and I will be blogging. There will be snark. There will be pictures. And we can we can all have a good laugh at Intelligent Design as notScience.

I'll keep knocking out the posts until the last of you lingers nevermore. Thanks for your time!

How to Ruin YouTube

You've seen what Christians can do to reality in the Conservapedia (insanity level has dulled some since it kicked off about a year ago), and now you can see how Christians can ruin YouTube.

You guessed it: GodTube!

You've got Trunk Deacon, Christian Movie trailers, and my horrifyingly favorite: Making Zombies Young (embedded for her pleasure). The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not drool.



"Holy Shit!" is right. Christ on a bun, and all that. Damn.

FOX Attacks: Veterans

Do something.

Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act

Kiss your First Amendment rights goodbye.

I first heard the alarm on this under-the-radar bill that has already flown through the House and is sitting in the Senate as S.1959 by Kate Chase over at ATD.

Mike Adams at NewsTarget.com has a comprehensively terrifying look at the bill and all the contact information you could need. Here's a clip:

The bill states:

‘...ideologically based violence’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual’s political, religious, or social beliefs...

Note that this means the "planned use of force to promote a political or social belief" would be considered an act of terrorism. This all hinges on the definition of "force," of course. Based on the loose use of logic in Washington these days, and the slippery interpretation of the meaning of words, "force" could mean:

• A grassroots campaign to barrage Congress with faxes
• A non-violent street protest
• A letter-writing campaign that deluges the Senate with too much mail
• A sit-in protest that blocks access to a business or organization
• A grassroots e-mail campaign that overloads the e-mail servers of any government department or agency

You get the idea. "Force" could be defined as practically anything. And since the "planned use of force" would be considered a criminal act of terrorism, anyone who simply thinks about a grassroots action campaign would be engaged in terrorist acts.

If this bill passes, any blogger - especially me - who has and will continue to rant against the current administration could be taken off to jail for voicing my opposition. Voice yours before it's too late.

Put on your boots, and get busy kickin' or get busy shakin'.

Why Huckabee Burns My Biscuits

In a recent interview, he said this:

Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal.

According to Huck, homosexuality = polygamy = pedophilia = bestiality.

No one who still spouts this ignorance is fit to be our president.

Drudge's Rank: Misleading and Malodorous

I read the Drudge Report every day because it's a delicious slushpile of all things evil and conservative. Today, Matt Drudge released his periodic "I'm so damned awesome!" rankings by Hitwise Media Weekly Report:

The Rankings



And if this blog were #9 on a media list, on par with FOX News for internet traffic, I'd be peeing my pants and shouting from the mountaintops too. But Matt Drudge is fiddling in trickery and blindly fooling millions.

Here's a logic puzzle: How does Matt Drudge, with one single web page (and the occasional all-caps DEVELOPING page), gain parity with the FOX News website, which has thousands of pages of varying news?

What Is Actually Being Measured

What are being measured are "hits," and that means that any time you or any person goes to Matt Drudge's front page, it registers a hit. If you visit again later that day, another hit, etc. It does not measure each individual visitor, which is a viable and available statistic, but every time the page is accessed.

The Trickery

The trickery occurs in two ways:

1. The Back Button: When you go to Drudge's site and click on a link, instead of opening another window or tab, you are taken to that page. Read the story and want to see another one? Back button to Drudge's site, log another hit. Rinse and repeat. This can easily ring up 10-20+ hits by just one person in a matter of minutes.


2. Refresh Code: I won't go into the techie details, but Drudge's site has a javascript code built into the page that will automatically refresh the page every three minutes, each time accessing the page again, each time clocking another hit. Basically, this means that if you go to Drudge's site and just leave the page open in a browser window or tab, you will tally 20 hits/hour for the site by doing nothing at all.

But How Do I Fight Such Kung Fu?

Like a ninja, of course. Here's what I do to avoid giving Mr. Drudge hits he does not deserve:

1. Go to the Drudge Report.


2. Hold down the CTRL key.


3. Quickly scan and click the stories you would like to read - using Firefox, this opens the stories in new tabs while keeping Drudge in the current window. I believe Internet Explorer works the same way.


4. As soon as you're done, close the Drudge window.


5. Leisurely browse the other stories.

If you're a quick reader/clicker, you can probably get this done without a single refresh, only logging one hit for Mr. Drudge.

Happy browsing!

Michael Savage Loves His Hate

This is Michael Savage:

Radio host Michael Savage is using frivolous lawsuits to bully those who try to expose his vicious hate speech.

Michael Savage is suing CAIR for posting a clip of his hate speech on their site. His frivolous lawsuit claims "copyright infringement" because the CAIR site featured a "donate" button.

In defense of free speech, we're posting the same clip next to our own donate button.

Click the above link to see and listen to more examples of Michael Savage's hate speech.

Quick note: what Michael Savage says is biased, ugly, and ignorant and I have a very difficult time listening to him. But it is free speech, isn't it? If you don't like it, tell him. If you don't like it, don't listen. If you don't like it, don't support his sponsors. But do we drive him from the air? Personally, I'd rather have the assbag on a pedestal where I can keep a close eye on him.

(nosavage.org is organized by Brave New Films)

Mercury Rising by MESSENGER

MESSENGER has its first look at Mercury:



This is the first time anyone has seen Mercury like this. Evar. It gets me all giddy. And this is just a flyby. MESSENGER will fall into permanent orbit in 2011 and get pictures that will make me weep. Check out the MESSENGER Page for a much, much bigger version.

(h/t to Bad Astronomy)

Bush and Abdullah - Strange Bedfellows

Note: All images pulled from CNN video

In the past couple days, President Bush has toured the Middle East, beginning with the first time in 7 years as a president that he's ever been to Israel. Personally, I wouldn't count that as genuine concern, but when you're drumming up support for the invasion of Iran, you've gotta take the big boy pill and cross the pond.



Luckily, Bush made it to Saudi Arabia, where he was promptly given a saber to properly rattle. Doesn't this look like an action shot from a community theatre production of Lawrence of Arabia: The Musical?



Bush also gets a "Special Person's Robe," and he's so proud of himself, walking down the aisle like on graduation. Incidentally, that is the definition of "shit-eating grin."



There was quite a lot of hand-holding through the discussion process; kisses were in private. And often.



UPDATE: Told you. Caught in that final, tingling, anticipatory second. Mmmm.




Nothing like losing yourself in some tea post-coitus...



...and seeing what "hung like a horse" is supposed to mean.

All in all, it looks like it was a successful trip. The President just hopes that Abdullah will call, or else it's...


...you know.

Notes on the Nevada Democratic Debate

The more the pool of NBC-sanctioned candidates shrinks, the more tragically boring the debates get. I'd write a mathematical equation, but let's just say that this one sucked the most so far.

Short summary: Kucinich was punked, Everybody loves each other, no one has a true weakness, Hillary uses ninja attack once, and Chris Matthews is still an asshat.

Let's itemize, shall we?

• Kucinich drama summary: NBC says "Hey, join us!" then says "Oops, hey forget about that thing we said." Dennis sues and appeals court says "Heck yeah you should be there" and minutes before the debate the Nevada Supreme Court says "No dice." NBC should be ashamed; the American people (and maybe the other candidates?) should at least act like they care.


• Everyone plays nice: the media-spewed race issue is no longer an issue. Yay! But toned-down issue foreshadowing of excitement level of rest of 2 hours. Boo.


• The people will elect whomever will effect change and says No to lobbyists and everyone on stage likes each other and "I agree" and "I respect" and - can we cut the damned oral sex daisy chain and maybe discuss why one of you is better than the other?


• Obama started the debate with his signature "Uhm"s but softened it towards Hillary's "ah" pronunciation by the end.


• Edwards was dang proud of flapping his arms to conjure up the word "fervently." It was tremendous.


• Edwards states that thousands of Americans come to Nevada every day to find the Promise of America. Gambling on a shot at unearned cash winnings is the American Dream? He later claims he meant people looking for work, moving to Nevada, but if population growth from 2000 to 2006 is any indication, daily average increase was a little over 200 people. So he was wrong, or he meant gambling. Or hookers.


• John Edwards constantly wears an obnoxiously large black K-Mart watch that, in its enormity, refuses to be hidden under his clothing. What the hell?


• Obama's greatest weakness is that he has a messy desk, Edwards cares too much, and Hillary pushes too hard. Were these answers given at a job interview, the interviewer would've replied "Okay, thanks. We'll let you know." Wait; this is a job interview.


• Hillary takes a double whack at Obama and Edwards on Yucca Mountain, attacking like a ninja; Obama is afraid to hit a girl; Edwards attacks, but amidst cries for relevance, appears to be tossing cream pies. Yes, I just called John Edwards a clown. And yes, he amuses me.


• Hillary is "against illegal guns." That's probably a good thing. For all things that are illegal.


• Post debate: Chris Matthews exploded onto the screen declaring Hillary the hands-down winner, amazed at her performance, talking like she's already the Democratic candidate, and "playing on the varsity team." The rest of the MSNBC team tried to calm him down, to no avail (at least poor Olbermann didn't have to be in the same room with him this round). Why is this disaster still on television?

I was bored. I was tired. And nothing happened. As soon as one candidate picked up on a topic, the others picked up and agreed. Iraq was equalized between them on nuance, everyone's for the economy, against the current administration and all the Republican candidates. So how to decide?

Personally, I think I'm still pushing for Dennis through the primary (Kate and I are voting on the same day - how fun!), but you've got three choices.

1. Stick to your original, gut reaction, even if they're not going to win the primary in your state.


2. Base your choice on experience, once you define for yourself what type of experience matters and how much of that experience each candidate has.


3. If you're looking for most presidential, while the misguided, obnoxious rantings of Matthews were unprofessional, he was not entirely off base: last night, Hillary looked and spoke like the leader, flanked by her seconds.


4. Base your choice on the woman, the African-American, or the rich white guy who was poor as a kid.

Cheers!

Kucinich and Democratic Reindeer Games

a.k.a., Shotgun Debate in Nevada. From the LA Times:

A Nevada judge said Monday that Democratic presidential candidate Dennis J. Kucinich must be included in today's candidate debate in Nevada.

Senior Clark County District Judge Charles Thompson said if Kucinich was excluded, he would issue an injunction stopping the televised debate.

The judge sided with a lawyer for the Ohio congressman, who said MSNBC invited Kucinich to take part and then told him that he couldn't.

"We disagree with the judge's decision and are filing an appeal," said a statement provided by Jeremy Gaines, a communications vice president for MSNBC.

He said the network would seek an immediate hearing before the Nevada Supreme Court.

MSNBC says they billed the debate as only the top 3 candidates, but I can swear I saw a promo for the "showdown" debate featuring Bill Richardson's mug before he removed himself from the race.

MSNBC, there are two options here: Say "oops" and set up a fourth podium or scramble to the Nevada Supreme Court and make complete asses of yourselves on a national stage to prove just how far you will go to silence minority opinion.

Davis Fleetwood has some excellent summary information about the story so far, GE (NBC's parent company) and war profiteering, and contact information for NBC and the DNC - and his live calls to those organizations.

The Hungry Boy in the Back

I was able to pull one quote out of the post-debate interview with Fred Thompson, but at that point, quickly became entranced by the drama that had been unfolding in the background. Yes, I know I'm going to hell.



I just really hope that poor kid had some cake at home.

Notes on the FOX News Republican South Carolina Debate

Ugh, *gasp*, ...burnout - 2 more Republican Debates, 3 more Democratic Debates before the conventions. This is getting tired.

So for those of you who don't want to dig down into the bullet points, here's the short short version: McCain drones racist, Thompson whips Huckabee, Huckabee says "gates of hell," Romney can't say "Ahmadinejad," everybody laughs at Ron Paul, no one will acknowledge what a benchmark in Iraq is, and the flashy background lights and Wendell Goler's tie distracted viewers from all of it.

Oh, and Ronald Reagan.



...and here's those witty bullet points you all so love:

• While I'm glad to see that they haven't shut out Ron Paul for good, I'm disturbed by the recent reports of decades of racist newsletters published under his name.


• The anti-Huckabee ad never showed. :(


• McCain's tone is so droning that he rendered 30% of the FOX audience comatose and paramedics lined up stage left should he slip into a coma himself.


• Note to Giuliani: "oversuing" is not a word or a reality - the only people who want tort reform are the medical insurance companies and the tools who are wrapped around their various appendages.


• Thompson with the big guns, goes down the line on why Huckabee's version of the Reagan Coalition is the policy of the Democratic Party. Ooh, snap. Too bad he's about 4 months too late in gaining a pulse.


• Huckabee on Iran pseudo-scuffle: The enemy should set their sites on the American ship, then know that the next thing they will see "will be the gates of Hell." Did you really just...yes you did.


• Distractions - Stop the twinkle lights in the background and tell Wendell Goler to tone down the Zebra Stripe Gum tie. I'm trying to watch a debate, not slip into an epileptic fit. Granted, with McCain's monotone, it was one of the few things keeping me conscious.


• Ron Paul points out the Bush Administration's saber-rattling, how they were disappointed in the NIE, and how we need to be way careful before pushing the Iran Go button. Hume makes snide comment about direct question he had asked another candidate and everyone has a laugh at Ron Paul. Ron Paul is apparently not in the Ronald Reagan Club.


• Note to Romney: If you want to be The Leader of the Free World, you might want to practice the names of other leaders in the world, like "Ahmadinejad."


• Note to McCain as old-fashioned sexist: it's not 1953 anymore. Time appoints a "Person of the Year," not "Man of the Year."


• Note McCain as new-world racist: Saying you don't want to trade with Al Qaeda because they only want to trade burqas, and don't want to travel with them because they only buy one-way tickets might be seen as inflammatory to anyone with a sense for such things. Ass.


• McCain has "the greatest respect and affection for" Giuliani. Did you mean "admiration" or can we look forward to a the McCain/Giuliani version of Madonna/Britney. Pop culture nuance note: McCain will also French kiss Thompson; no one will remember.


• Carl Cameron to Ron Paul: "Electability...do you have any?" Carl Cameron is a dick.


• Nitpicking Huckabee on referencing Hispanics as "some of the ones." Some might see that as dehumanizing minorities. Non-whites are people too.


• Thompson's post interview summed up the overall view of how the Iraq Surge is a winner: "The only benchmark is success." I would've gone with the 9/18 benchmarks; at least there you get 50%.

So another debate dies and we breathe deeply before January 15th's Democratic debate, if it's aired. I guess I'll figure that out by then. Cheers!

Republican Debate, Huckabee Gets Spanked

Huckabee will be a part of the Republican debate tonight, but he'll have to contend with the fact that this scorcher will be viewed during a break:



Nice.

Limbaugh, Liberals, Race, and Ron Paul

Today on his show, that preternaturally epic bag of douche, Rush Limbaugh, was in a tizzy. He attempted to veil it, but his shouts that something happened, he didn't know what, but Democrats better find out what it was rang only of "The polls said Hillary wouldn't win! Kryptonite! Somebody whine with me!" And his manhood, it shrunk - two more sizes - that day.

Rush then went on to explain to his attentive sheep that the liberals are horribly disorganized and completely terrified that there might actually be a "woman" or "black" nominated for the presidency. Why would Rush say such a thing? According to the El-Rusho, Conservatives are the inclusive folks, and us Liberals are the real closet racists and sexists. And according to him, we're scared as hell that a woman or black might get the nomination. Incidentally, we also don't believe that elections are about issues, but about posturing and marketing. And we killed Baby Jesus (no, he didn't say that).

Mr. Limbaugh then vaulted into Hillary getting teary-eyed, how calculated it was, and the Oprahization of the country, a term he apparently coined along with every other pop culture reference.

But the segue here departs from the tirades of the over-medicated conservative medium to the issue of race and how it applies to Ron Paul, the net-roots juggernaut candidate of the Republican Party. As James Kirchick of The New Republic states, "If you are a critic of the Bush administration, chances are that, at some point over the past six months, Ron Paul has said something that appealed to you."

Well, he does want to end the illegal war against Iraq...

But before Ron Paul entered the world of politics, he published many, many newsletters, newsletters that "were published under a banner containing Paul's name, and the articles (except for one special edition of a newsletter that contained the byline of another writer) seem designed to create the impression that they were written by him."

Who wants excerpts?

• On the LA Riots: "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks three days after rioting began."


• "America's number one need is an unlimited white checking account for underclass blacks."


• 1992 Bulls Celebration: "blacks poured into the streets of Chicago in celebration. How to celebrate? How else? They broke the windows of stores to loot."


• On MLK Day: "What an infamy Ronald Reagan approved it!" one newsletter complained in 1990. "We can thank him for our annual Hate Whitey Day."


• "One newsletter ridiculed black activists who wanted to rename New York City after King, suggesting that 'Welfaria,' 'Zooville,' 'Rapetown,' 'Dirtburg,' and 'Lazyopolis' were better alternatives."

I think that's enough.

Please read the article for the rest of the foul story. And never again equate Ron Paul with the ideals of Dennis Kucinich or anyone else who actually has the welfare of all people in America in their heart.

FreeCreditReport.com: Fuck You

Aside from the obvious Pastafarian upside, here's the spot:



The bepirated teller of this sad, catchy tale explains that he had his ID stolen. Said misfortune has somehow caused him to forgo his chosen vocation in order to take up waiting tables at some Long-John's-Lobster-esque joint. However, the decrepit crooner relates, if he had gone to FreeCreditReport.com (and apparently enrolled in the Triple Advantage version of the program which runs $15/mo), he would've "seen it coming like an atom bomb."

The pirate job, while snazzy, doesn't relate to ID theft. Is this an extra job? Why? If you shred your important documents, have a reasonable firewall, and aren't pissing your information all over the goddamned internets, ID theft is relatively rare. Hell, LifeLock is only $10/mo and that stops a life hack cold. This commercial doesn't make sense!

Round 2:



Here we have the same, unfortunate schlep, this time he has married his "dream girl," but did not know her credit was bad before going through with the nuptials. He then states that if he had gone to the aforementioned website and apparently pulled divining rods out of his ass (because you check your credit there, not someone else's), he would have seen that she had bad credit, kicked the woman with whom he has chosen to spend his life's skanky ass to the curb, and now be living in some masturbatory fantasy world where a single-income guy who can't afford to buy a house with the aid of his wife's income could somehow afford not only a house, but a dog as well, if that interest rate was just a couple points lower. Poor son of a bitch is now doublefucked, as you can see his accursed pirate hat in the foreground. This commercial doesn't make any fucking sense either!

So why all the goddamning and fucking? I listen to television all day - mostly Headline News. One of these two commercials appears repeatedly during the day on most stations (Time Warner buy, no doubt) to the point not just where it's not just "stuck in my head," but I dream these songs and hear them vividly playing upon waking. And my daughter sings them.

"Well, Ricky, you're just giving in to the what the advertisers want you to do," you say.

No shit. I love you all, but in my viral-induced misery, I sneeze on you. Share my hell.

Glenn Beck Had Ass Surgery

I posted Glenn's YouTube video Sunday and I've listened to the radio show (now I'm subscribed to Beck and Hannity...sheesh) and watched the Headline News spot, which both covered roughly the same items:

• "Ass surgery" gone "awry"


• Woke up under anesthesia


• Cocktail of Morphine, Phentanol, Toradol, Percocet, Synthetic Morphine Drip for pain


• While some good doctors/nurses, he was often treated poorly, ignored, and looked at as nothing more than a number


• "Don't talk to me about health care, don't talk to me about HMO's" until you can talk about compassion, until folks involved in health care start seeing people as human beings


• Med cocktail brought darkness, drained hope, caused hallucinations of grotesque death and children having their faces chewed off by dogs


• On his TV show, discussed putting the Care back in healthcare, how insurance-based systems are big part of problem, and about the over-medication of Americans: better living through pharmaceuticals

I don't wish this experience on any human being and do feel compassion for Glenn Beck. Unfortunately, it usually takes a negative experience - although not nearly as horrid as this one - to open our eyes to the sad state of American health care.

The "I hate Michael Moore and America's teh bestest" argument does not stand and it shouldn't be such a partisan issue; all Americans suffer because the insurance companies in charge of us receiving health care make money by not allowing us to get health care. It is broken. For everyone.

And if you'd like to pull this into our current election process, Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate who thinks insurance companies should not be in charge of our health care. If he does not win, we need to make it clear to whomever does that insurance company-run, profit-based health care is not an option.

If they don't care about a nationally-syndicated radio and television host, do you really think they give a shit about you?

Update Note: ABC's Good Morning America had Glenn on this morning where he shared his story again, this time with his wife (video at link). But I couldn't help notice the banner posted above the story:



Yes, that's Pfizer's logo on the right. Today, Glenn Beck's medical and pharmaceutical horror story was sponsored by a keystone of the very industry that caused it.

Brave New Films in New Hampshire

If you're tired of the mass media telling us how to think about the elections and the results of the elections, give Brave New Films Live Online Coverage a try. They're currently taking live suggestions and comments about what they should discuss/address for the evening. Current lineup is as follows:

7:10: Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films
7:40: Matthew Yglesias, The Atlantic
7:50: Robin Abcarian, L.A. Times
8:00: Billy Wimsatt, League of Young Voters
8:10: Rachel Sklar, The Huffington Post
8:20: Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake
8:30: Jim Dean, Democracy For America
8:40: Steve Clemons, The Washington Note
9:00: Lane Hudson, News for the Left
9:10: Isaiah Poole, TomPaine.com
9:40: James Rucker, Color of Change
10:00: Liza Sabater, Culture Kitchen
10:10: Eric Boehlert, Media Matters

Help support independent media and not, like I just heard on Headline News, extrapolation of New Hampshire Primary results based on how Dixville Notch, NH - with 17 voters - fared. FOX News too:

McCain with 4 votes, Mitt Romney with 2 votes, Rudy Giuliani with 1 vote. Those were the only Republican votes cast.

On the Democratic side, Obama won a landslide 7 votes compared with 2 for John Edwards, one for Bill Richardson and none for Hillary Clinton.

That's right: "a landslide 7 votes." WTF?

Of course, I'll be suckling from the teat of the mass media because someone's got to let you know the outrages that seep from their assuming, power-addled minds. Remember to be discerning while listening, and to decode while digesting.

Kucinich in New Hampshire

Davis Fleetwood reporting.

Glenn Beck on Monday

As I posted Friday, Glenn Beck's had a bad experience with American Medicine, and he's hinting at naming names and spouting compassion for the Average Joe.

I will listen. I will watch. I will report.

Glenn Beck can be heard on the radio at 9am Monday morning on local stations and seen on CNN's Headline News Monday night at 7pm EST.

Glenn Beck's Taste of American Health Care

And then Glenn's like OMG, "horribly awry" surgery, American medicine might not care about average Joe...understands compassion..."full fledged suicidal." I am not going to disrespect a man who's obviously gone through a pretty harsh ordeal with comeuppance, but what the hell is going on?

One thing's for sure: Monday will be something to tune into, radio and television as it were.


(h/t to TVNEWSER on Media Bistro)

Altering the Mind and the Human Condition

I am still getting hits and - surprisingly - comments on that long ago post "Marijuana Duck Duck Goose" where I blogged about a study that took the chemical in marijuana that makes you paranoid, administered it to subjects, and, surprise, it made them paranoid.

Most of the trickling comments are of the same variety as before:

- OMG, my friend smelled weed and totally went schizo!
- OMG, my friend's a doctor and gets high every day!
- OMG, pharmaceutical companies are the devil!

I'm making a generalization, not a commentary about my commenters; I love you all.

Except this one showed up in the post today:

Honestly, you kind of fail at life if you need a drug.

Based on the rest of what Anonymous had to say, I'm guessing his/her comment excludes caffine, energy drinks, nicotine, alcohol, and any OTC or pharmaceutical drug obtained and used legally with a doctor's prescription...except marijuana. Aside from the naive nearsightedness of the comment, I thought I'd take a moment to comment on the human condition and how it relates to altered consciousness.

When we are children with our first few handholds on reality, what is it we do? We alter it. We spin around until we can't stand up straight, feel sick, then do it again. We beg Mom or Dad to throw us up in the air and go down the slide 500 times because of the way it makes our tummy feel. We speed away on our bikes and get on the tallest roller coasters. We jog for the runner's high and meditate to take reality down a notch. We sleep to rejuvenate, dream to process, daydream to escape.

The legal stuff can speed us up, slow us down, numb us, and put us out, even permanently. The illegal stuff can take it a step further by altering our perception of sensory stimuli and time or simply ramping up the effects of the legal stuff.

But whether we seek enlightenment in a quiet mind or an expanded mind, whether we seek to touch God through a bag of shrooms or by speaking in tongues and dancing with snakes, whether we are looking to enhance or numb the experience of life, or are just plain addicted to the effects of a particular drug, human beings have grown tired of reality: we get it already.

And to say that anyone has "failed at life" because they have decided - for whatever reason - to lift the velvet rope, open a couple doors, and go beyond the nickel tour that comes with the ride is ignorant, naive, and sad. For the rest of us: do what you will, though you harm none, and happy exploring.

Message from Elizabeth Kucinich

Worth the minute of your time. Enjoy.
(See how I didn't mention how smoking hot - damn. Nevermind.)


[Alternative YouTube Link]

Kucinich in the Oval Office

And this is how he'd do it...

New Year's Kittens

A day late, but yes, I said New Year's Kittens:


[Alternative YouTube Link]

The Pope Mentally Masturbates on Marriage

On December 30th, 2007, the Emperor Pope said

we celebrate the mystery of a God Who chose to be born of a woman, the Blessed Virgin, and to enter this world in the same way as all mankind. Thus He sanctified the family, filling it with divine grace and fully revealing its vocation and its mission

First we have "the mystery of a God Who chose to be born of a woman." C'mon, now. So God, who supposedly designed the entire universe, specifically how things are born and "enter this world" chose to reference his own blueprint when he decided to pop in for a visit. That's a real head-scratcher.

Secondly, "thus he sanctified the family." By impregnating an unmarried woman against her will and forcing a shotgun wedding to a man who was not the father, God showed us what the family is all about? WTF? And while it does fit a modern profile of the family unit, the Pope and Republican leaders in this country are so focused on preventing people of the same sex who truly love each other from getting married that they are blatantly blind to the fact that the current, standard version of the institution is frostbitten, rife with gangrene, and slowly dissolving in its own juices.

But I guess it is part of the human condition to fantasize about and elevate something that you can never have or be a part of. Pope Benedict XVI, you're so emo.

MySpace IMPACT Pre-primary Primary

Yay voting! Stay in and vote. Now.

MySpace is holding an online primary starting 1/1/08 and running to 1/2/08 at 11:59pm. Choose a party, choose a candidate, then take the exit poll.

Make your voice heard.

Wi-Fi Tee From Heaven

I'm a little bit of a geek. Okay, I'm a rather big geek. Which is why this tee from Think Geek is something I will probably own very, very soon.

Here at ThinkGeek we're pretty lazy when it comes to technology. We expect our gadgets to do all the busywork while we focus on the high level important tasks like reading blogs. That's why we hate to have to crack open our laptops just to see if there is any wi-fi internet access about... and keychain wi-fi detectors, we would have to actually remove them from our pockets to look at them. But now thanks to the ingenious ThinkGeek robot monkeys you can display the current wi-fi signal strength to yourself and everyone around you with this stylish Wi-Fi Detector Shirt. The glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding wi-fi signal strength fluctuates. Finally you can get the attention you deserve as others bow to you as their reverential wi-fi god, while geeky chicks swoon at your presence. You can thank us later.

Amen.

2007 into 2008 - Be Change Now

Happy New Year's Eve, folks. MoveOn.org has done some great things this year, the least of which was to get deeply embedded under the skin of such windbags as Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and FOX News. Here's a retrospective featuring some of the members: people just like you and me.



We have way too many people in America snugged comfortably - ass-print and all - on Apathy's couch, the thought bubble reading "Doesn't matter what I do" and floating above their head like a stubborn, stagnant, fetid fart. We need to lead by example: mobilize, volunteer, get involved. Do something. Ghandi said "we must be the change we wish to see in the world," but putting that in the signature of your outgoing emails doesn't actually make you the change; it makes you complacent. "Do or do not; there is no try."

I don't care what party you are a part of: get active. Be a part of the process, whether it's political or environmental or humanitarian or Drewish. Find something that makes you want to tear open the shutters, throw up the sash, and scream your fucking brains out. Then do that.

When you are standing on a street corner with a protest or concern sign, when you're attending a rally - whether ten or ten thousand strong, when you're writing letters to your elected officials and getting out there with your vote to back it up, that's when you're in it, that's when you're doing something. Then do more. Think. Act. Emote. Aspire.

Let's make 2007 cry like a little schoolgirl because it's so jealous of 2008's progress. Let's show Americans what America can be. Let's make it count.

Bush Wants to Bring Bhutto Suicide Bomber to Justice

Yesterday, after it was mostly understood that a single suicide bomber opened fire at former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and then 'sploded, President Bush announced "Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice ..."

Note to President Bush's speechwriting team: you might want to explain to him that the person responsible is dead. Suggested intervention script based on the most recent information: "See, this t'rr'rist dinna like Bhutto, so he got close and shot at her, but'e missed. But'e's wearin' a bomb too and blowed 'imself up. When he 'sploded, part a da bomb hit'er in the head, killed'er dead. Heh." Explaining that you're not talking about Buddha is on you.

Priest v. Priest: Fight!

AP Photo

Just in time to eschew the symbolic sanctimony of the Birth of Christ:

Feuding Christian sects have attacked each other in a flurry of fists and brooms at the Bethlehem church where Christ was reputedly born, leaving four people injured.

The fight took place at the ecumenical Church of the Nativity, where priests from both the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic orders had been cleaning up after Christmas celebrations earlier in the week, the BBC reports.

It is understood the fracas began when a Greek priest placed a ladder in a part of the church known be under Armenian jurisdiction.

Up to 80 bearded holy men wearing dark robes became embroiled in the fight, many wielding brooms.

There's not much to say about that. WWJD? Probably kick their stupid asses out and raze the church for its symbolic idolatry. You'd think the keepers of the faith would be the ones to understand the importance of the spiritual over the physical. Alas, thus is the path of organized religion.

And if that's not all three slices of crazy in one day, here's another dose of UN-Christlike behavior:

Bill O'Reilly's War on the War on Christmas

For your Christmas hangover, here's a little Bill O to make that vein pop out in your forehead. "Every company in America should be on its knees thanking Jesus for being born!" Amen, Bill.



And as a bonus, a new site: Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly International.

The Onion's Soldier Holiday Greetings

May not be around until Christmas. Enjoy this from The Onion News Network:


Our Troops Send Holiday Wishes For Peace, Goodwill, And Body Armor

Huckabee's Phantom Cross

Everyone's talking about it, so here it is:



Huckabee says it's just a bookshelf.

I'm an actor of 20 years with both film and television in my background; I have a solid understanding of what happens during a shoot and in post-production. Two possibilities here:

1. The production team hired to film a national commercial for a leading presidential candidate cleverly lit part of a bookshelf brighter than the Christmas tree or even Huckabee himself to in order to not-so-subtly bring a cross into the image to reflect the message of God Bless and Merry Christmas, and everyone is lying about it.


2. The production team hired to film a national commercial for a leading presidential candidate are talentless, legally-blind hacks who errantly lit a bookshelf and, according to the Huck's story, not only didn't notice a blaring cross during the shoot, but didn't notice it in post-production, and only oh-my-gosh'ed when the public saw it.

I don't believe for a second that it's the latter.

Holy Nintendo!

Who likes Nintendo? You do. You know you do. You miss the old school nostalgia of the 8-bit walking pixelations and furiously blowing into the cartridge, then the system, then the cartridge.

You can have it again! Nintendo8.com is your new friend. Here's 100 games, played through the magic of Java, right in your browser. Then click ALL and behold the all-some.

From Astyanax to Bionic Commando to Shadowgate to Zombie Nation (seriously, try it - whacked). Not safe for work because you will not work.

Digging into the Kucinich Blackout

Still no real answers, but plenty of questions.



[Alternative YouTube Link]

Because Ocelots are Friggin Sweet

I did this up for a search engine experiment for my real job. If it works, I'll report back in on the boring techie details. Just something tasty for Monday.

Know What I Love About Wal-Mart?

12-year-old Chinese children working 15 hour days, 7 days a week, at $0.26 an hour to make Christmas ornaments for the Big-Box Monster. That's the holiday spirit!

From Mother Jones:

With the help of the National Labor Committee—the American outfit famed for shaming Kathy Lee Gifford for her line's exploitative labor practices—the teenagers have brought to light yet another scandal with big implications. Turns out the Guangzhou Huanya ornaments factory in Guangdong, where the high school students worked, employs children as young as 12, who are forced to work 15 hour days, 7 days a week to make Wal-Mart's Christmas ornaments in time for the holiday season. It might come as no surprise that the wages paid by the big box behemoth's manufacturers are paltry, but these kids earn only half of China's minimum wage—just 26 cents an hour.

Anyone else just want to throw up? If you haven't figured it out yet: It doesn't matter how good the deals are; stop shopping at Wal-Mart. If words won't do it for that shopping itch, the whistle-blowing teens were able to get some pictures:



What is anyone still doing shopping there?

Dennis Kucinich Axed in Iowa

It's starting to happen with more severity and urgency: The media is shutting down anyone who is not at the head of their personal popularity contest. The last two debates we were told that Mike Gravel was not important to be heard. Today, as noted by Kate, Dennis Kucinich was added to the ranks of the uninvited.

From the Kucinich campaign:

The highest polling Democratic Presidential candidate among the Party’s progressive, grassroots, activist base, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, has been excluded from the Des Moines Register-sponsored Presidential debate here on Thursday because his Iowa field director operates from a home office rather than a rented storefront.

Despite being the top-ranked Presidential candidate in polls conducted by Democracy for America (DFA), Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and one of the country’s leading progressive publications, The Nation, Kucinich was not invited to participate in the debate because “It was our determination that a person working out of his home did not meet our criteria for a campaign office and full-time paid staff in Iowa,” according to a statement from the newspaper’s top officials, including editor Carolyn Washburn.

What? Are you serious? A storefront? Who even ...what? I didn't watch the debate, but I also heard that CNN applauded the exclusionary move. This is the type of story that makes me sad and makes me angry and makes me lose faith in our system of government.

Who likes to make noise? Feel free to contact the Des Moines Register.

Editor Carolyn Washburn (515) 284-8502.
Laura Hollingsworth President and Publisher (515) 284-8041
Randy Brubaker Managing Editor (515) 284-8590
Randy Evans Assistant Managing Editor (515) 284-8118
Letters to the editor e-mail: letters@dmreg.com

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Blog

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, has a blog. It's been up since August of 2006 and it covers some Where in the World stuff, American meetings, and the "freedom and liberty" enjoyed by Iranians in a non-inflammatory and rather boring tone, especially with the "In the Name of Almighty God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate" heading off every entry. It would've been better if it were actually "frank" as is apparently his aim. And if he posted more than 5 times in the last year.

Fav excerpt? The "Hay GuyZ!1!" tone in defense of the time he is spending on the blog.

Since my last post on the blog, a few months have passed. But this doesn't ‎mean that I have not been keeping my promise of spending fifteen minutes per week ‎on it. As a matter of fact, I have spent more than the allocated time on the blog. The ‎magnitude of the reception and acclamation from the viewers was beyond ‎expectations.

Oh, quit your bitchin'!

At first I thought this was a Fake Steve Jobs kind of thing, but then I realized how absolutely lacking in creativity, humor, and content Mahmoud's site is.

Kudos to the first infidel who can trade blogroll links with Iran's President!

God Sends Gunman, Defender to Church?

On Sunday, December 9th, a man armed with "an assault rifle, two handguns and a backpack with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition in clips" dropped a smoke grenade at one entrance to a Colorado Springs megachurch, circled around, and opened fire at the exiting crowd, killing two people. Twelve hours earlier, he had killed two others at a missionary training school in Arvada.

He then entered the church, took a couple of shots, and was gunned down by security guard Jeanne Assam. Jeanne's take on the situation? "It seemed like it was me, the gunman and God," she said.

I'm sorry, Jeanne, but God was not anywhere in the vicinity that day.

It was just you and a home-schooled kid who had become entrenched in the pseudo-religio-society that is megachurch Colorado Springs and was subsequently ostracized from his reality when he was booted from the Youth With A Mission school a few years ago (Space cadet check: Police said 3 years, the school said 5, and the church affiliated with the program? "Senior Pastor Brady Boyd of New Life Church said the gunman had no connection to the church.").

In the actual definition of "begging the question," God in the world of the extremely devout works something like this: Why does everything happen for a reason? Because God is infallible. What proof do you have that God is infallible? Everything happens for a reason.

He's got a pretty good racket going. Win the lottery? God's blessing is upon you! Have an addiction or horrid money problems or both? God's just challenging you to make you strong. Jump out of your burning apartment, break both your legs, and watch your mother die by immolation? God's blessing you survived and Jesus needed Mommy in Heaven.

And in this case, the security guard attributes her trained ability to fire a weapon at a target to God when the result of it was the taking of a human life in the house of God.

I understand the role of religion in people's lives, but blind, unquestioning faith and using God as a tool of rationalization is simply turning 'living a life' into absurdity.

Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat" Not So Appropriate

As my 11-year-old daughter (and the rest of her 6th grade class) is in love with the song "Crank That Soulja Boy" by Soulja Boy, I was keeping up with propriety and checking the artist out to make sure that it was something appropriate for an 11-year-old. I ran across a fan site that had the lyrics.

From the song:
I'm Jocking On Yo Bitch Ass
And If We Get The Fightin
Den im cockin on ya bitch ass

And then there's the song "Bootymeat."

Needless to say, the music is not appropriate for my daughter. What surprised me more was:



"A Positive Direction for Young America."

Isn't this kind of the opposite of that?

Nebraska Shooter Caps 8, Saves One for Self

As a man of sometimes-supreme excess, I spend most of my work-from-home day listening - that's right, listening - to Headline news or some other network iteration of force-fed prioritized reality. Yesterday was no exception, and CNN Headline News was the source of my information as the shooting in a Nebraska mall was rippling through the newsosphere.

Early, but the last point I was paying much attention, the live afternoon anchor stated that the shooter was wearing a green army jacket. Then: "the shooter is an African-American male."



Wait a second: that guy isn't black!

Perhaps a poor man's rendition of Tom Cruise in Risky Business, but he's no Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Wait a second: black people don't wear green army jackets! Wait a second: there's no black people in Nebraska!

Ah, but I jest.

Two questions rattle the brain cage:

1. How did grunge teen angst with the bouffant a la Journey get described as an African-American male?


2. Why can't these people just go down with their own ship? Someone plese spread this generalization: suicide is a private event.


3. When will there be broad recognition that antidepressants can actually cause depressed people to drop even further into depression?


4. Do any black people live in Nebraska?

Okay, that was more like 4 questions. You know.

At least there's LOLcats.

I Don't Think Anything Predated Christians

"I Don't Think Anything Predated Christians."

That's what Sherri Shepherd said on The View. Check the clip here until it's yanked, but be forewarned that for anyone with any sense whatsoever about history will be in physical pain after the 42-second exchange, not just for Shepherd's idiot comment, but for the complete lack of certitude used to contradict her statement:



And this is television on your planet? Yes, Mr. Alien, this is television. (That's longhand for being embarrassed for humanity.)

(h/t to Phil at Bad Astronomy)

TV Stations Sites: Can I See Some ID?

I was going to mention this story about a man who was shot with a taser as he stepped out of his bathtub. The man was deaf.

But I became increasingly frustrated at the website as I glanced and scanned and checked it out: where the hell are we?

In a world of ever-growing, worldwide internet presence, I'm continually surprised by how lacking local news stations are in one very simple item: city and state. I can tell you KWCH is west of the Mississippi River, and reading the entire article places the deaf man in Wichita (call letters are similar), and working through the menus shows me we're in Kansas. But are we? I've gotten this far by a lot more deduction than I should be expending simply trying to figure out where the station posting the article is based.

Summary for every local news station in America-

Your Local News Internet banner should contain the following:

• Your call letters
• Your city and state
• The pretty faces we would see were we living locally and turned on the news
• A generalized, trite, non-descriptive slogan that you think sets you apart from the rest of the local news stations in your market (optional)

So hurry up and get your web guy/gal on it! And while you're making phone calls, call the cops and tell them to stop tasing deaf and/or pregnant people.

Kucinich 2008 - Fundraising Push December 15th

Dennis Kucinich is focusing a blast of fundraising on December 15th, the historical day on which the Bill of Rights was adopted by America.



Are you tired with the War in Iraq? Support Dennis.

Do you support equal (not separate) rights for same-sex couples? Support Dennis.

Are you tired of corporations running America? Support Dennis.

Are you tired of struggling to pay ever-increasing premiums as the insurance companies the world over post record profits? Support Dennis as the only candidate who proposes universal, not-for-profit health care.

We (and that includes me) sit around our dinner tables or barroom tables and we shoot barbs at the system or talk about how we need to take action and change America. This is our chance to do just that: stop bitching about the itch and scratch it for God's sake!

"But Ricky, Davis says $100 in the video and it's almost Christmas and...." You know better than that. Is $100 ideal? Yes. Would the Kucinich campaign raise their noses at $50 or $10. Hell no. Every piece helps. Do what you can.

Support Dennis Kucinich.

It's time to make a change in America. And that starts with me and you. So shelve the plans for la Résistance for a minute and let's see what we can do through Dennis.

Religious Hatred for Islam from Muslims

Last week, British teacher Gillian Gibbons was convicted of religious hatred for letting her Sudanese class name a bear "Mohammed." Last I heard, while Mohammed is a popular name for males in Sudan, it's not to be used for an animal. Or, apparently, a stuffed animal.



In a related story that I just made up, the Sudanese people were also convicted of religious hatred because mobs of people, some wielding large knives and other weapons, calling for the execution of a Brit, make the rest of the reasonable world hate Islam.

As a liberal, I am more than willing to give religions the benefit of the doubt in the depth and breadth of the belief of their followers. Unfortunately, when a mob forms about giving the name of a prophet to a stuffed bear, and they want to kill not the namer but the off-nationality teacher who let it happen, I have to say to Sudanese mob: Hey, you! Get your shit together! You are making Islam look very, very bad and irrational to a world that is already open to that interpretation!

And I don't even like exclamation points.

The Sudanese government needs to either rein in this catastrophe or give the hidden Gillian time served for surviving hiding out and let her go home.

No, I don't like whackjobs of any flavor.

UPDATE: Either the folks in Sudan read my blog or I write unquestionable reason and common sense that needs not be read to be understood: British teacher pardoned. Or, as is true in most of the world, a bundle of whackjobs does not the masses make, much like a Bill Donahue and a Pat Robertson, while inflammatory and offensive and even representative, do not stand for the compassion that many of their followers hold dear.

Pope Benedict Criticizes Atheism in Encyclical

This past Thursday, I railed against Pope Benedict for paying lip service to preventing AIDS - one day before World AIDS Day - when Catholic doctrine is strictly against the use of condoms.

Today I almost sharted when I read the story about Pope Benedict's Encyclical attributing the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known to atheism, citing Marx and Lenin. It is followed-up by the Pope's "self-critique" of Christianity:

"We must acknowledge that modern Christianity, faced with the successes of science in progressively structuring the world, has to a large extent restricted its attention to the individual and his salvation," he wrote. "In doing so, it has limited the horizon of its hope and has failed to recognize sufficiently the greatness of its task."

Yes, that piss-poor, job-interview-esque "what's your greatest weakness" of an answer is what the Pope considers "self-critique" of Christianity.

I reiterate what I wrote to the Pope concerning condoms and AIDS: How fucking dare you?

How about the treatment of non-Christian Romans after Constantine adopted Christianity? How about the Spanish Inquisition? How about the burning of witches? How about Hitler was raised Catholic and did continue belief in Christianity during his killin' days? How about that self-critique? And since Popehat is specifically targeting atheism, how about all the wars in the history of the world that were fought, not because the other tribe or ethnic group or country didn't believe, but because they believed something different?

I'm not very fond of organized religion, but I recognize the value it has in billions of lives and the potential good that it can do. And while I see Catholicism specifically as an anachronistic, non-bending, slowly sinking ship in the 21st Century, Bill Donahue take note: I do not hate the Catholic Church. But for the Pope to state that atheism is the cause of pain, war, tragedy, and horror in the world past and present is like King Henry VIII of England berating Bill Clinton for his indiscretion, and is way beyond the scope of pot/kettle territory.

The Encyclical, appallingly entitled "Saved by Hope," can be viewed online at the Vatican website.

So shame on the Pope and shame on AP Reporter Victor L. Simpson for (writing the article and) blindly being his mouthpiece.

I-35: Holy Highway to Batshit Crazy

I-35 goes from Loredo, TX to Duluth, MN. And due to a "series of prophesies, dreams, and visions," many Midwest ministries believe I-35 is the road mentioned in Isaiah 35:8 (it's even Isaiah 35 - OMGLOL!!1!): "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness."

This 5 minutes may not make you dumber, but you may sustain some damage banging your head against the wall after watching it. The man presiding over the insanity he calls a "report:" none other than the deliciously batshit crazy Pat Robertson, prime backer of Rudy Giuliani.



Ironically, watching this video makes me want to pray for our country.

Putin's Little Soldier

In a rare and candid moment, Russian President Vladimir Putin admits that his penis is, in fact, quite small.


(image source was Drudge front page, unaltered - Russians wear the wedding ring on the right hand)

Notes on the Republican CNN YouTube Debate

Last night I sat through the mental poo-bomb that was the Republican debate and yadda, yadda, let's get on with those notes.

• Approximately 3000 questions were asked for the YouTube Democratic Debate; 5000 for the YouTube Republican Debate. This is probably attributed to everyone from the first debate, 1900 new Democrats desiring to zing the Repubs, and 100 Republicans who were able to figure out a camera, Windows MovieMaker, and the YouTube on the internets.


• I thought Anderson Cooper looked rather dapper in his black satin tie, but then again I've always found him a handsome man.


• The sparky exchange that started out between Giulianai and Romney left Giuliani defeated and looking like a fool for his comments about Romney's workers and wide-open for his non-answer of New York as a sanctuary city. And he was the first booed by the audience.


• Every boo in this debate was an ecstatic spark of schadenfreude.

Jesus Has Nads!

Yesterday I focused on a talented group of people making art out of balloons in the name of Christ. Today I show you why we can't have anything nice.



Yes, I just did that.

And even Hillary is talking about it.

Pope Promises to Do Nothing About AIDS

December 1st is World AIDS Day. From the Vatican Information Service:

At the end of today's general audience, which was held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope launched an appeal for everything possible to be done to halt the spread of AIDS.

"December 1," he said, "marks World AIDS Day. I remain spiritually close to everyone suffering from this terrible sickness, and to their families, especially those who have lost a loved one. To everyone I give assurances of my prayers.

"Furthermore, I wish to exhort all people of good will to increase their efforts to halt the spread of the HIV virus, to combat the disdain which is often directed towards people who are affected by it, and to care for the sick, especially those who are still children."

Unfortunately, since the use of condoms (or any contraception) is strictly against the ever-aging doctrine of the Catholic Church, we have an insulting, damaging non-message here. And without the suggestion of the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, I have one brief message to send to the Pope:

How fucking dare you?

Balloons For Jesus!

Looking for a new way to glorify The Lord? Me too!

How about balloons for Jesus? That's right, balloons for Jesus! Over at GospelBalloons.com, you can find "a place to learn and share ideas with others involved in gospel balloon ministry." Do I kid?

I was at first mildly amused with the routines on the site, specifically the clever slight-of-hand of turning balloon lightning into a balloon cross. And then I found the sanctum sanctorum: the Gallery of Biblical Balloonery and "mildly amused" turned to "Holy shit!"


Yes, that is none other than Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Made of balloons. Hauling a balloon cross. But isn't a balloon cross defeating the symbolic message of the weight of our sins?


(Click for Bigger) Didn't the rainbow appear after the flood was over as God's promise that He wouldn't ever ever do that again? Sheesh.

Aside from my snarky comments, I have to hand it to anyone with that much dedication and talent, even if it is spreading the Word with balloons.

Kucinich and a Wrap of the November 15th Debate

35 Percenters. Always worth the watch.


[Alternative YouTube Link]

But We Don't Impact the Environment

Since the fallout of Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize (and by "fallout," I mean the sour grapes green envy wrapping itself around and enlivening the deniers of pollution and global warming), we've been treated to a gross swelling of the subcutaneous fart bubble that is the ignorance of right wing talk radio and others that claim - unequivocally - that we don't impact the environment and that to argue such is foolhardy.

In Time Magazine's report, "Peak Possibilities," it states that "In July 2006, the world's oil rigs pumped out crude at a rate of nearly 85.5 million bbl. a day" (current goal is 100 bbl. a day). To put this in perspective (at 42 gal/bbl), at peak, we were pulling the equivalent of 7 and a half Giants Stadiums - full to the brim - out of the ground. Every day. Even now, every three to four hours on this planet, we are extracting a Giants Stadium worth of crude. How does that not affect our planet?

But idiots still say global warming is a scare, that we're not impacting the environment.

I guess if we're taking, we should talk about putting back. And we put back like hell. But, again, we're going to need something of relevance to convey the staggering numbers. How about the Sears Tower? It weighs 440 million pounds or 220,000 tons.

Let's look at some numbers from Wikipedia on Pollution:

Millions of Tons of CO2 per year:

• United States: 2,790
• China: 2,680
• Russia: 661
• India: 583
• Japan: 400
• Germany: 356
• Australia: 226
• South Africa: 222
• United Kingdom: 212
• South Korea: 185

US Specifically from 1970 to 2006:

• carbon monoxide emissions fell from 197 million tons to 89 million tons
• nitrogen oxide emissions fell from 27 million tons to 19 million tons
• sulfur dioxide emissions fell from 31 million tons to 15 million tons

So according to the previous numbers, the United States alone pumps 12,682 Sears Towers into our atmosphere. The top 10 polluters together pump 37,795 Sears Towers into the air.

And please do not forget to mention carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide. Combined, the United States pumps out 559 more Sears Towers into the air. Yes, those are even more dangerous - to us - than carbon dioxide, and that's the same air we breathe.

I know; it's hard. Imagine the Sears Tower in Chicago. Imagine it being launched into the air and dissolving into breathable particles. Now do that 558 more times: almost twice a day every year.

But we're not impacting the environment.

The numbers, even with the relative, real-world comparisons, are still hard to imagine, but what is very real and very apparent is that we're affecting our environment by pumping out of the earth and into the atmosphere at a terrifying rate. And we're breathing it in.

And we're still wondering what's causing increasing rates of breathing problems and disease as our medical establishment slowly rises to the concern. And that doesn't include the filth corporations are dumping into our water supply by error or effort, the hormones and antibiotics that are in our source water that aren't checked for in water treatment plants, and how those things affect the sad animal casualties of nonchalance and ignorance.

And there are still those saying we're not impacting our environment.

I guess my only question is one of threshold: what the fuck has to happen before some of these whackjobs will admit "Eh, yeah, maybe we're screwing something up."?

Maybe when they can't be connected in a Six Degrees of Corporations game?

Wal-Mart Digs Deeper into Depravity

Most of us are aware of the unfair business practices of Wal-Mart forcing many of its providers to produce in China so it can take advantage of the unregulated, unjust working conditions, as well as the consistent lack of a living wage for its US employees and the secondary "small business killer" service it provides. From Mother Jones we have a new low:

Just when you think that Wal-Mart had already exhausted every last possible strategy for screwing over its employees, here comes this story in the Wall Street Journal. Deborah Shank, a Wal-Mart employee gets into an accident with a semi and ends up permanently brain-damaged a few years back. Her Wal-Mart health insurance paid her medical bills, but she also sued the trucking company for damages. She wins $700,000, which after legal fees and expenses, nets her about $400,000, which was put in a trust to pay the nursing home she now lives in.

But Wal-Mart gets wind of the settlement and turns around and sues Shank for $470,000, the money its insurance company paid for her care from the accident. Now, the woman is reliant on Medicaid and Social Security and Wal-Mart apparently got a much needed windfall.

Wal-Mart isn't alone in such behavior. Insurance companies seizing lawsuit winnings from catastrophically injured Americans is a common practice that gives lie to the notion that anyone gets rich off a personal injury lawsuit these days, as insurance companies often get first dibs on any judgment or settlement in such cases. But Wal-Mart's cruelty, as always, is extreme in this case. Not only is Shenk profoundly disabled, but while her family was fighting off the company in court, her son was killed while fighting the war in Iraq. Not even bad PR like this, apparently, can eke out a drop of compassion from the retail giant.

Bill Donahue Loves Hate

Bill Donahue, president of the conservative Catholic League, known for spouting against Harry Potter and those durned gays, was on CNN this weekend spouting off against atheism and the upcoming movie The Golden Compass:

It's very bad to get up in the morning and knowing that you have to go out and hate somebody as part of your job.

Aside from the cringe-worthy, toddler-level mastery of the English language exhibited here, this is textbook pot/kettle fodder; Bill Donahue is best known for how intolerant and hateful he is towards anyone who is not a straight, pro-life Catholic bigot like himself. Media Matters has a lovely collection of his hateful ignorance. Enjoy.