Collective Sigh

What kind of fraternity did these guys belong to?

First, Rush Limbaugh likens the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison to fraternity hijinks.

Congressman Danny Davis (Il-D) crowns Sun Myung Moon as the Messiah - at an event held on federal property - and looks at it the same way.

Davis wouldn't budge, comparing the elaborate ceremony to a "fraternity or sorority meeting," or rituals performed by the local Elks lodge. "That's kind of the way I regard these ceremonies."

If that's the way these characters like to play, coverage of the GOP convention will need to be rated "R".

(Thanks to TCF for the correction regarding Davis' political party)
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Asleep at the wheel again

I violated this household's "No Bush" television policy today, and saw a bit of his joint press conference with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

Paraphrasing one of my favorites -

Reporter - What is your reaction to Ron Reagan, Jr.'s remarks regarding politicians using religion to gain political advantage?

Bush - Haven't heard them.

***

Andante - You were there in the cathedral, dumb ass (throws shoe at TV).

Bush also backed up Dick Cheney's Saddam/al Queda fixation, which is really getting creepy.

The Quaker meeting I attend (and support financially) also supports a children's school in Ramallah.

I am sure one of those little kids has a parent or older sibling or third-cousin-twice-removed that has thrown a rock or a Molotov cocktail or somehow participated in the intifada. Or been recruited by some terrorist group.

So, yeah - I guess I'm supporting terroism.

Come and get me, boys.

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When you make your bed, you have to lie in it

....one of my mother's favorite sayings, especially when I've done something stupid and end up reaping what I sowed.

So it's nice to see Snidely Whiplash (aka former representative Bob Barr) get some comeuppance - Court Rejects Effort to Sue Former President Clinton

The Georgia Republican alleged that the three conspired to smear him by publishing information about his private life as retaliation for his outspoken role in the impeachment proceedings against Clinton.

In a bid for a three-fer, Barr attempted to bring a $30 million dollar suit against Bill Clinton, James Carville, and Larry Flynt for conspiracy (that vast left wing conspiracy). Barr failed to make his conspiracy claim against Clinton and Carville within the three years permitted by law.

As to Flynt, the panel ruled that Barr's claim is barred by the First Amendment because he failed to show that the information printed in a one-time issue called "The Flynt Report" was false or was published with knowledge that it was false.

Flynt's article included allegations by Barr's former wife that the congressman had an affair in the mid-1980s. It also said that in contrast to his public opposition to abortion, he drove his wife to a clinic to have an abortion performed.

Barr alleged Carville gave Flynt Barr's FBI files and other documents as part of a smear campaign, but Flynt denied it.

Toooooooooooo bad, so sad. :)

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June 15 – This day in history

Gotta start with 1985.

June 15, 1985 was my daughter’s “due date”. I was miserably, burstingly pregnant, cursing the doctor who pronounced the due date, and begging God for a healthy baby NOW. Or preferably, YESTERDAY.

I heard somewhere that walking would help speed up the process, so I spent a good deal of the day waddling up and down the hallway. No luck…..I had to wait several more days.

And yes; I remind her of this day every time it comes around. I’d be a terrible mother if I didn’t instill some guilt in my kid.

Birthdays –
1932 Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York, one of the last great orators.
1964 Courtney Cox, annoying control-freak “Monica” on Friends

Deaths –
1989 Victor French; actor and Saddam lookalike

Events –
1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, England
1940 French fortress of Verdun captured by Germans
1944 US forces begin invasion of Saipan in Pacific
1967 Gov Reagan signs liberalized California abortion bill
1986 Pravda announces high-level Chernobyl staff fired for stupidity

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Wrong. Period.

Froomkin reviews the OLC's Aug. 1, 2002 Torture Memo.

Well worth a thorough read, but there's one statement that says it all -

"Nowhere do the authors say “but this would be wrong”.

No matter how the Justice Department and any army of lawyers slice & dice it....torture is wrong, wrong, wrong.

And stupid.

Look, if someone was torturing me, I'd tell them everything I knew and a lot of stuff I don't. I'd admit whatever they wanted me to admit, and swear to whatever nonsense they suggested.

Information obtained by torture and abusive methods is unreliable. Any fool should realize that, but there are fools....and then, there's the Bush administration.

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Long distance psychoanalysis

....isn't something I'd bet my life on. I have a hard time spelling "psychoanalyst", much less trusting anything other than the results of multiple one-on-one contact. In fact, I'd put it on the par with advice from the Psychic Hotline.

Nevertheless, a prominent Washington psychoanalyst, Dr. Justin Frank, has taken the plunge and published his findings in Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President.

His "findings" ain't pretty; painting a picture of a troubled, emotionally-stunted, sadistic megalomanic -

Bush's false sense of omnipotence, instilled within him during childhood and emboldened by his deep investment in fundamentalist religion

The president's history of untreated alcohol abuse, and the questions it raises about denial, impairment, and the enabling streak in our culture

The growing anecdotal evidence that Bush may suffer from dyslexia, ADHD, and other thought disorders

His comfort living outside the law, defying international law in his presidency as boldly as he once defied DUI statutes and military reporting requirements

His love-hate relationship with his father, and how it triggered a complex and dangerous mix of feelings including yearning, rivalry, anger, and sadism

Bush's rigid and simplistic thought patterns, paranoia, and megalomania -- and how they have driven him to invent adversaries so that he can destroy them

Full disclosure -

Dr. Frank has been a psychiatrist for 35 years and is director of psychiatry at George Washington University. A Democrat, he once headed the Washington Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility

I'm not sure what his professional colleagues and the Physicians for Social Responsibility will think of his long-distance psychoanalysis, but nevertheles I'd like to welcome Dr. Frank to the club of those who knew it all along.

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To the highest bidder

Since privatizing security,interrogations, supply service, and Gawd-knows what else in Iraq is working so well, I guess it's time to starve the CIA-beast -

Assessing, cultivating and recruiting spies has long been a key job of Central Intelligence Agency officers. But now it is the C.I.A. officers themselves who are being assessed, cultivated and recruited — sometimes right out of the agency's cafeteria. In what is leading to a critical spy drain, private companies are aggressively seeking highly trained employees of our espionage agencies to fill government contracts.

(snip)

Private contractors are taking over jobs once reserved for highly trained agency employees: regional desk officers who control clandestine operations around the world; watch officers at the 24-hour crisis center; analysts who sift through reams of intelligence data; counterintelligence officers who oversee clandestine meetings between agency officers and their recruited spies; and reports officers who act as liaisons between officers in the field and analysts back at headquarters.

At least highly sensitive jobs aren't being outsourced to another country. Or are they?

Because the issue is hidden under the C.I.A.'s heavy layers of secrecy, it is impossible for even Congress to get accurate figures on just how much money and how many people are involved. But many experts inside and outside the agency feel that we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of contractors.

Our tax dollars at work, with no congressional approval or oversight.

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June 14 – This day in history

Birthdays –
1811 Harriet Beecher Stowe
1925 Pierre Salinger
1928 Ernesto (Che) Guevara

Deaths –
1801 Benedict Arnold
1986 Alan Jay Lerner

Events –
1775 US Army founded
1789 Bounty mutiny survivors reach Timor
1940 Germans enter Paris
1940 Auschwitz, largest of the Nazi concentration camps, was first opened near Krakow, Poland
1942 Walt Disney's "Bambi" is released
1944 1st B-29 raid against mainland Japan
1951 1st commercial computer, UNIVAC 1, enters service at Census Bureau

And a late addition (thanks, Michael) -

2003 NTodd rolls out Dohiyi Mir

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Perpetual war hits military families hard

Inexcusable.

***One in four spouses of soldiers who have had their deployments extended report that coping with deployment has been a major problem

***Among military families with children, 37 percent report that extended deployment has posed a major problem for their children.

***Half of the spouses of deployment-extended soldiers rate the overall support they have gotten from the Army during deployment as only fair or poor.

***Fully three in 10 report that in the past year, they and their family have had trouble paying bills

***For more than one in five, their current financial situation is such that they have to get food stamps or Women, Infants, and Children program aid from the government.

***Six percent of families of officers say they receive food stamps or WIC

***Half report that marital problems are very common

***Twenty-seven percent report alcohol or drug abuse problems in the unit

***Sixteen percent say domestic violence is very common

***Half of the spouses of soldiers on extended deployment report having had difficulty sending or receiving communications with their husband or wife
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The conservative British Telegraph U.K. forecasts a long, hot summer for the Bush administration -

New evidence that the physical abuse of detainees in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay was authorised at the top of the Bush administration will emerge in Washington this week, adding further to pressure on the White House.

The Telegraph understands that four confidential Red Cross documents implicating senior Pentagon civilians in the Abu Ghraib scandal have been passed to an American television network, which is preparing to make them public shortly.

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June 13 – This day in history

Birthdays –
William Butler Yeats (1865, Basil Rathbone (1892), Red Grange (1903), Paul Lynde (1926)

Deaths –
323 BC Alexander the Great dies of fever at Babylon
1886 King Ludwig II of Bavaria drowns
1972 Clyde McPhatter singer of the drifters, dies of a heart attack
1986 Benny Goodman the clarinet playing King of Swing, dies in NY at 77

Events -
1789 Mrs Alexander Hamilton serves ice cream for dessert to Washington; a first!
1905 NY Giant Christy Mathewson 2nd no-hitter, beats Chic Cubs, 1-0
1927 Ticker-tape parade welcomed Charles A Lindbergh to NYC
1940 Paris evacuated before the German advance
1944 Germany launches 10 of its new V1 rockets against Britain from a position near the Channel coast
1948 - Uniform #3, belonging to Babe Ruth, retired at farewell ceremonies for the Babe
1966, the Miranda Decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court
1967 Thurgood Marshall nominated as 1st black Supreme Court justice
1971 NY Times began publishing "The Pentagon Papers"
1977 Convicted assassin James Earl Ray recaptured [?]

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Snoop Dogg-ese

I love Pen Elayne on the Web, especially her "Silly Sites of the Day".

Let's face it; with nuclear proliferation, the Village Idiot in the White House, the Patriot Act, the threats of terrorism - damn, now I'm depressed. Time to check out a Silly Site.

So I took an earlier post, and ran it through the Snoop Dogg Shizzolator.

Here's the original post -

Brokaw's Dateline interview with Dubya -

Bush: Our economy hadn't been as strong as it should be. And there's people that hadn't been working. Fortunately, our economy is now strong and it's getting stronger. Job report has been very robust recently, which is positive news. In other words, people are getting back to work. The country is going to be strong economically, which means we're more able to be able to afford keeping our troops overseas.

Well, that's certainly a relief.

I was afraid we'd be wasting some of that strong economy on health care, or education, or the environment or one of those other commie librul issues.

And here we have the Snoop Dogg translation -

Brokaw's Dateline interview wit Dubya -

Big Baby Bush: Our economy hadn't been as strong as that shiznit should be n' shit. And there's muthas that hadn't been working n' shit. Fortunately, izzle economy is now strong 'n that shiznit's getting stronger n' shit. Job report has been hella robust recently, which is positive news, know what I'm sayin'? In other words, muthas are getting back work n' shit. The country is going be strong economically, which means we're mo' afiable be afiable afford keeping izzle troops overseas n' shit.

Well, that's certainly a relief.

I wuz afraid we'd be wasting some of that strong economy on health care, or education, or da environment or one of those other commie librul issues n' shit.

***

I think he makes more sense in Snoop Dogg-ese.

Come to think of it, maybe I do, too.



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Rumsfeld no stranger to privatizing war

I didn't realize Rumsfeld had attempted to privatize a "war" once before.

From Mother Jones -

In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed Rumsfeld, a 37-year-old congressman from Illinois, to head the Office of Economic Opportunity, which was responsible for overseeing the War on Poverty. Nixon wanted the agency restructured, and Rumsfeld, with the assistance of his chief aide, Cheney, quickly began bringing in management contractors to do the work of the agency's top civil servants.

Rummy brought in two firms - Booz Allen Hamilton and Arthur Andersen - as consultants. He installed them in offices near his, and they began the process of weeding out the "waste".

The result -

Although civil service rules prevented Rumsfeld from mass firings of the agency's employees, he could take away most of their responsibilities. Indeed, when Rumsfeld released a new agency telephone directory, it no longer had listings for 108 government employees, including more than 70 senior managers, some of whom were left without desks and wandered the agency's halls without any purpose.

Rummy's successor (Frank Carlucci)reported to Congress that the agency spent $110 million on management contractors between 1965 and 1971.

"We did not think we were getting our money's worth," Carlucci testified.

It's the same old, same old. We are paying buckets of taxpayer money to private contractors, while simultaneously paying those who are trained for the jobs in Iraq.

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More Iraq Blowback

Dutch voters punish leaders over Iraq war

The Dutch government yesterday discovered the electoral price of its support for the US-led occupation of Iraq, losing seats in European elections which also brought gains for Eurosceptics campaigning to "clean up" Brussels.

Blair says sorry as Prescott admits Labour got a 'kicking' for Iraq war

Tony Blair's leadership was under renewed pressure last night after Labour slumped to a disastrous third place behind the Tories and Liberal Democrats in the local authority elections.

I hope-hope-hope-hope we can detect a pattern here.
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June 12, 2004 – This day in history

As a very amateur history buff and trivia collector, I’ve decided to include those events from history that just happen to catch my eye on a given day. Maybe not every day, and not a complete list, by any means – just a bit of fun.

Birthdays – George H.W. Bush (1924); Anne Frank (1929); Jim Nabors (1932)

1812 Napoleon's invasion of Russia begins
1839 1st baseball game played in America
1876 Marcus Kellogg, a journalist traveling with Custer's 7th Cavalry, files one of his last dispatches before being killed at the Battle of the Little Big Horn
1880 1st baseball perfect game-John Richmond of Worcester beats Cleveland
1940 Paris on the verge of invasion; 54,000 British and French troops surrender to German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux, on the northern Channel border, as the Germans continue their gains in France
1948 Eddie Arcaro becomes 1st jockey to win the triple crown twice
1963 Medgar Evers NAACP official, murdered in Jackson, Miss at 37
1964 South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment
1965 Rolling Stones release "Satisfaction"
1967 Israel wins 6 day war
1967 Supreme Court unanimously ends laws against interracial marriages
1980 Milburn Stone actor (Doc-Gunsmoke), dies at 75
1987 Reagan challenges Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall

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Limbaugh's tribute to his hero Reagan

Limbaugh announces end of 10-year marriage



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College Students Favor Kerry, but Apathy Grows

There's good news from college campuses for Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.): Students clearly prefer him over President Bush in this fall's election. The bad news? College students express a declining belief in the importance of voting and the relevance of politics to their lives.

Silly kids. Haven't they ever heard the term "cannon fodder"?


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McCain's Resistance Doesn't Stop Talk of Kerry Dream Ticket

Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry has discussed the vice presidency with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on several occasions, the most recent in the past two weeks, informed sources said yesterday. But the conversations have gone nowhere because McCain believes such a bipartisan ticket would not work and could weaken the presidency, they said.

I just fail to see why this would be a "dream ticket".

McCain is one of the (few) Republicans I respect, but he's a Republican, through and through. Democratic voters would continually question his stand on the issues, and Republicans would go ballistic.

Who needs a vice-presidential candidate that is constantly on the defensive and takes the limelight totally away from Kerry?

When/if Kerry wins, appoint him to a Cabinet position. It would be a popular move, and take one more Republican vote out of the Senate.

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I promise I won't be serious for long

Reagan finally did something I agree with - he pre-planned his funeral.

One of the very best thing you can do for your loved ones and family is to pre-plan your funeral arrangements and leave explicit instructions for handling estate matters.

No, I'm not shilling for the mortuary industry.

Several years before my Dad passed away, he drew up a detailed list of telephone numbers to be called upon his death. For example, the number for the local Social Security office (and his social security number), the correct office at Fort Bragg, etc.

He also bought a "funeral policy" with the local mortuary to cover the "final expenses", and filed explicit instructions with the funeral home.

When it became apparent he was dying, my sister wrote his obituatry.

As a result, we were not thrown into the bewildering maze of arrangements that are necessary at such a stressful time.

I realize funerals are for the living, and a lot of grief (and maybe guilt) is assuaged by an elaborate funeral. Different strokes for different folks, I guess -

Former United States president Ronald Reagan is lying in state in a massive solid-mahogany coffin known as the "Marsellus Masterpiece" that weighs 180kg.

The Post Standard paper in the New York State city of Syracuse quoted John Marsellus, the former head of the now-defunct Syracuse-based casket maker, as saying the coffin cost between $10,000 and $14,000. (link)

Me? I don't think Buddha or Mohammed or God or whatever cares what contains your mortal remains.

I've left very specific instructions with Mr. Andante for the final disposition of my body, and a very specific threat to come back and haunt him if he doesn't follow my wishes -



And I hope he remembers the garbage collection day is Wednesdays.

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The "Toughest Sheriff In America"

Disclaimer A multi-part post regarding a local whacko, and a cautionary tale regarding tough-talking Republicans who like to dress up in military gear and role-play.

Any resemblence to Fearless Leader, the Department of Justice, Abu Ghraib, or Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal completely intentional.

***

Documents filed in his case depicted a sheriff who abused his office; intimidated and threatened his deputies; endangered the public through his recklessness; and ordered racial profiling and the occasional beating of inmates.

Once upon a time, unsuspecting Davidson County, N.C. residents elected a sheriff who promised to be super-duper-heavy-duty-tough on crime. Besides, he was a good God-fearing Republican. How could they possibly go wrong?

Hege, a savvy Vietnam vet and Republican, used his natural political instincts to tap into a fear of crime and a longing for conservative yesteryears in a rural county sometimes made uncomfortable by growth all around it. He used the press to leave anonymity behind and become the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America," satisfying his considerable vanity as well.

Meet ex-Sheriff Gerald Hege of Davidson County, N.C. -

Born in rural Davidson County in 1948, Hege grew up beneath the hot Carolina sun pulling tobacco leaves under the strict guidance of male kinfolk. "I was raised you do something wrong, you get a whippin' for it," Hege says.

After high school, he married Amy, whom he had been dating since the age of 12. It's a day he's not likely to forget. "I got married, I got a speeding ticket, two flat tires and my draft notice all in one day -- August 31, 1968."

In Vietnam, his nickname of "Local" -- as in "local boy" -- soon changed to "Loco." When things "got heavy," as Hege puts it, he was a leader. "I figured that if I was going to go down, I was going to go down blazin'."

The only time I saw him NOT wearing his paramilitary get-up was when he appeared in court to answer the 36 indictments against him, including embezzlement, illegal wiretapping and obtaining property by false pretense.

He comes in at 8 a.m., does office work until about 5 p.m., when he picks up his wife, Geri, for supper. Then, he returns to work until midnight alongside his officers, patrolling dark country roads and roaring Interstate 85 with an MP5 submachine gun beside him on his front seat (George Thorogood's `Bad to the Bone' blasting from the stereo). He does this seven days a week. While most other sheriffs wear suits and ties, he wears a uniform - even to church.

Hege painted silver arachnids all over his personal patrol vehicle - a souped-up black Chevy sports car outfitted with a Corvette engine. Critics charge that a spider tattoo on a skinhead celebrates the murder of a black man.

Hege's explanation? - "When I was growin' up, I used to watch 'Dragnet.' I couldn't understand why a guy named Jack Webb didn't have a spider web on his car, and as I'd watch the show I'd fantasize and imagine that it did."

Even under the hood of Gerald Hege's patrol car, he displays a "Spider" sticker. He says the kids love a fast black car.
(Jaime Dispenza/ ©News & Record)Copyright © 2001 News & Record

Hege's department lost its insurance coverage when Hege boasted of driving 140 mph on U.S. 52 in his souped-up "spider car." Twice the SBI has investigated incidents in which Hege chased fleeing vehicles into neighboring counties and fired at them

When he pulled that stunt in neighboring Guilford County (causing injury to an innocent pedestrian) the Guilford County police, High Point City Council, and citizens were not amused. Hege, typically, was unapologetic.


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Part II - Jailhouse Crock, or - "I, The Judge And Jury"

For two years, he hosted his own show on Court TV. "Inside Cell Block F" was broadcast ive from Hege's jail - which he painted pink to make inmates feel like "sissies".

The first thing he did was to tear each and every television from the jail walls. Then he removed every mattress from its steel bunk, not to be returned until designated "sleeping hours." All books -- save the good book -- were banned.

Hege revived the 40-year-old practice of chain-gangs, and swapped the traditional orange jumpsuits in favor of candy-colored stripes that grow increasingly absurd with the seriousness of the crime -- baby blue for misdemeanors, lime green for sex offenders and fruit-sorbet orange for felons. He then added to the pink Romper Room decor with paintings of weeping, blue teddy bears sporting cute little vests with the words "Junior Sheriff" stenciled on them. He overhauled the department with crisp, black, military-style uniforms. He changed the department motto to "No Deal" and changed the department emblem to a spider.

Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville spent time in the jail billed as the "toughest in America" (and known locally as that jail with a high number of jailbreaks).

Michael Zane Stephens was an inmate in the jail several times in 2001 and 2002 on charges related to a restraining order against him by his wife when they were getting a divorce. Most of the charges were eventually dismissed, but Stephens said he was traumatized by his experience. He said that jailers allowed fights to go on and at times hit prisoners themselves.

"You're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty," Stephens said. "The whole time you were under Hege's regime, you were cussed at, you were laughed at, you were made fun of. They didn't do anything but beat you down."

Hege's wrath against lawbreakers and traditional lawmakers seems personal, and that is precisely what disturbs his critics. Hege's opponents stress that inmates are in jail to await trial, not to be punished by a power-mad lawman who has appointed himself judge and jury.

Hege also appeared on several national shows, including "Larry King Live," "Today," "20-20" and "America's Most Wanted," thereby totally embarrassing the entire non-knuckle-dragging population of the area.

He installed permanent TV lights in his office for almost daily press conferences.

The Davidson County Sheriff's Office K.A.T.N. spider patch stands for "Kicking Ass and Taking Names."(Jaime Dispenza/ ©News & Record)

...some of the "K.A.T.N." included setting up a drunken-driving roadblock outside a reception for former Democratic Secretary of State Rufus Edmisten

Who can ever forget his Christmas cards one year - showing him holding the bloody head of Osama bin Laden, with "Happy Ramadan" splashed across the top?




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Part III - Comeuppance

Gerald Hege prefers an M-3 machine gun over a conventional service revolver. (Jaime Dispenza/ ©News & Record)

Gerald Hege had that wingnut media-manipulation down pat -

The press got hundreds of colorful stories and striking photos and footage that got good play. And reporters here and at other area newspapers did do plenty of hard-hitting stories as well, ones about Hege's boast of going more than 140 mph in his "spider car," lawsuits from citizens claiming they'd been abused by deputies, some of his deputies being busted for drugs, his run-ins with other law enforcement agencies and his sloppy financial accounting. Hege countered by playing reporters against one another, giving scoops to those who didn't ask him hard questions.

He stopped talking to reporters who he said had "an agenda," which usually meant they covered his bad actions as well as his earnest efforts to help and protect elderly folks and children.

After careful inquiries by the State Bureau of Investigation, Davidson County's long nightmare has finally ended with Hege pleading guilty to two felony obstruction charges stemming from an investigation into widespread corruption in his department.

The self-proclaimed "Toughest Sheriff In America" had a hard time applying the "rule of law" in his own department; last year, his top three undercover vice officers pleaded guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges. It was all downhill from there.

Of the 67 sworn affidavits against Hege, 27 are from law enforcement officers, alleging that Hege: -ordered crime statistics be fixed if they showed any increases -stopped investigations into a case because victim’s had supported a political opponent -threatened that any deputy complying with SBI investigations would be fired -suggested that deputies pull over everything “darker than snow driving through Davidson Co.”

Hege was sentenced to six-month suspended sentences for each count,placed on probation for three years, and required to give up his job. He'll spend the first three months of his probation wearing an electronic ankle bracelet while on house arrest.

Hege must also repay $6,200, including $2,000 for a plane ticket to Australia bought for a dog trainer and $1,100 in county money he spent on a Christmas party.

Defanged, at last.

(links from Mapinc.org, NCIndyMedia.org, Salon, and the Charlotte Observer )
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God bless the British health care system

By accident, I just caught a bit of the All Reagan, All The Time coverage on CNN.

Discussing Margaret Thatcher, Paula Zahn just said

"her doctors have forbidden her from all public speaking".

Please feel free to provide your own drum-roll-rim-shot punch line.

Update: Also from the mouth of Paula Zahn - "the Leagan Regacy".

Yep. That sounds about right to me.

Another update: This is getting interesting. Judy Woodruff -

"We're seeing one living and all the former living presidents...."

That's Leagan Regacy Media Overkill for you.

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But will it play in Peoria?

Republicans Upset Over Bush Plan to Use Reagan Images, Speeches in Campaign Ads

One proposed ad even goes so far as to show Reagan saying “George, go out and win one for the Gipper.” The clip comes from Reagan’s speech to the 1988 Republican National Convention where the former President’s request was to Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, in his successful 1988 run for President.

(barf break)

(another one)

I know the Kerry campaign can find three film clips of Reagan using the words "vote", "for", "carry".

A little careful editing, and there you go.

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Labour suffers heavy election losses

In non-Reagan news, Tony Blair's poodling for Dubya is getting the Labour Party's ass kicked in the elections.

From the BBC -

Labour is suffering heavy losses in local elections in England and Wales, with several councils changing hands.

So far Labour has lost about 233 seats. David Blunkett said he was "mortified" by the results and blamed the Iraq war for "damaging" the Labour vote.

The terrorists are winning again, right?

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Sweet!

Italian police get Lamborghinis

Italian police have been given something of a helping hand in their bid to catch crooks.

The latest addition to their fleet of cars is a Lamborghini sports car with a top speed of 192mph.

The 2-seater Lamborghini Gallardo will be used along highways in southern Italy.

The car, a gift from the Italian car factory, uses a V10 cylinder DOHC four valve V90 5 litre, 500 Hp engine

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War crimes: US seeks protection

After securing a unanimous United Nations Security Council resolution supposedly granting "full sovereignty" to Iraqis, the United States is shifting its focus to winning a second decision that would protect its troops from possible war-crimes prosecution.

The original resolution granting immunity to US peacekeepers that was first adopted by the Security Council in July 2000 was renewed last year, and remains valid until the end of this month. The present resolution, which is a call for a second renewal, is due to come up for a vote before July 1.

(snip)

"The question is: Will the other 14 members of the Security Council (China will probably abstain) allow themselves to be intimidated once again if the United States insists on a renewal?" asked Hans Corell, who until recently was the UN legal counsel. "Can they afford damaging their own reputation - and the council's? And can the United States afford continuing in this way when they need all the support they can get from the United Nations in other matters?"

Unfortunately, the United States' reputation is already in tatters, with the Security Council not far behind.

And administration that parses the words "torture" and "abuse" isn't likely to think twice about the world's opinion.

I continue to be amazed at the depths to which this administration can sink. I thought Nixon and Reagan were bad, but Bush II has been lapping them and patting themselves on the back while they do it.


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Grammy-Winning Crooner Ray Charles Dies

Ray Charles (news), the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as "What'd I Say" and heartfelt ballads like "Georgia on My Mind," died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 73.

Here's a man we can all mourn; regardless of race, religion, or political party.

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Reagan made us "proud to be Americans"

....because he told us so. And the Republicans are beating it like a drum and trying to make it stick to Dubya.

The best analysis of Reagan's "hopeful" legacy EVER; from Juan Cole -

Jimmy Carter was a far better president than W. can ever hope to be. Carter made peace between Israel and Egypt. He resolved the Panama Canal issue to everyone's satisfaction, and we've never heard any more about it because there haven't been subsequent problems. He avoided a potentially disastrous US attempt to prevent or roll back the Islamic Revolution in Iran. He used the foreign aid carrot to begin the process of pushing the Latin American military regimes to democratize (a process that has been wildly successful). He raised human rights as a foreign policy issue. Carter is a quick study and a bright engineer. He was president at a time of post-Vietnam and post-Watergate doldrums, at a time when Iran and Afghanistan spun out of control, at a time of high petroleum prices, continued stagflation, and high inflation. I am not entirely sure what he could have done about any of these problems, most of which were beyond his control (and most of which remained beyond the control of his successors).

Reagan did not overturn Khomeini, rather he sold him arms. Although Reagan got the Soviets out of Afghanistan, he did it at the cost of creating a radical Islamist international and destabilizing Pakistan and Afghanistan--i.e. Afghanistan continued to spin out of control, with fateful consequences. The price of petroleum declined from $40 a barrel in 1980 to less than $10 a barrel in 1986, helping Reagan quite a lot, but it had nothing to do with any policy pursued by Reagan. (Europe cut its energy consumption by a third after the 1970s oil shock, and OPEC has a tendency to overproduce over time). After Carter retired, he spent his time building houses for disadvantaged people. He also was key to the elimination of a painful and debilitating parasite in Africa, improving the lives of millions. The vilification of Carter and the hero worship of W. is a sign of how morally warped the American Right really is. Carter's political and economic environment made it impossible for him to be a great president, but he was a damn sight better than W. any day of the week.

To which I respond - "I wonder how long I can sustain a standing ovation?"


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Israel can now spot, destroy roadside bombs from air

This new technology could be promising. I wonder if it could be converted for detecting all the land mines we've strewn across the planet?


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(Shamelessly swiped from Pharyngula)
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Ann Coulter Enters the O'Reilly "No Spin Zone"

...and my head is spinning. O'Reilly almost comes off as sane by comparison.

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Opening the back door for the American Taliban

So much for separation of church and state.

Fear not, ye wingnut clergy; verily I say unto you, the Republicans shalt cover thine asses.

Speaker Pushes Jobs Bill Provision
Religious Leaders Would Be Allowed More Freedom to Participate in Partisan Politics

House Republican leaders have tacked on to a major jobs bill a provision that would give religious leaders more freedom to engage in partisan politics without endangering the tax-exempt status of their churches.

Conservative Christian groups have been pushing for such legislation for years, while civil liberties organizations and religious minorities have opposed it. But unlike past proposals, which were stand-alone bills, the current provision is attached to a huge tax bill that House leaders have placed on a fast track for consideration.

(snip)

The provision also would allow clergy members to commit three "unintentional violations" of the tax rules on political activity each year without risking the loss of tax-exempt status. After the first violation, the church, synagogue or mosque would have to pay corporate taxes on one week's worth of its annual revenue. For the second violation, the penalty would be taxation of 50 percent of the organization's annual revenue. The penalty for the third violation would be taxation of a year's revenue, but not permanent loss of its tax exemption.

Fourth and subsequent violations? Probably a sleepover in the Lincoln Bedroom.


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Time to delay another report

The State Department is scrambling to revise its annual report on global terrorism to acknowledge that it understated the number of deadly attacks in 2003, amid charges that the document is inaccurate and was politically manipulated by the Bush administration.

(snip)

"Indeed, you will find in these pages clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight" against global terrorism, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said during a celebratory rollout of the report.

But on Tuesday, State Department officials said they underreported the number of terrorist attacks in the tally for 2003, and added that they expected to release an updated version soon.

...probably somewhere around mid-November, wouldn't you think?

I wonder if it will include the results from the Saudi poll showing wide support for bin Laden's views.

Almost half of all Saudis said in a poll conducted last year that they have a favorable view of Osama bin Laden's sermons and rhetoric, but fewer than 5 percent thought it was a good idea for bin Laden to rule the Arabian Peninsula.

"They like what he said about what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or about America and the Zionist conspiracy. But what he does, that's where you see the huge drop," said Obaid (Saudi national security consultant).

I'll admit I was totally wrong about the Bush administration and job creation. Jobs in the "terrorist" sector are busting out all over.

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Let the renaming begin

CNN reports Bill Frist is pushing to rename the Pentagon after Ronald Reagan; something like "Ronald Reagan Defense Building", or some such nonsense.

Perhaps the "Ronald Reagan Tax Revenue Black Hole" would be more appropriate.

I like Bohemian Mama's suggestion that we rename stem cells "Reagan Cells".

Tom Burka has some creative suggestions, including renaming George W. Bush "Ronald Reagan.

How about renaming the WIC program after Reagan, considering his concern for "welfare queens"?

I kind of like renaming the "Strategic Defense Initiative" the "Ronald Reagan Death Star Project".

Perhaps Teresa Heinz Kerry could use her influence with the ketchup industry toward some sort of tribute to the man who considered ketchup a school lunch vegetable

Whatever we do, I recommend whatever costs the most for lower and middle class taxpayers and puts the most profit in corporate pockets.

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Thousands file past Reagan's casket

CNN is providing moment-by-moment coverage of Reagan's casket. No sign of miracles or resurrection so far, but the day is early.

Watching all those people file past the casket, I guess I just didn't realize there were so few people of color in California.

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Rumsfeld says even his wife needles him on hunt for Osama bin Laden

U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says his wife often wants to know where Osama bin Laden is hiding - and she usually pops the question soon after he wakes up in the morning.

"When I walk out of the bedroom in the morning, my wife frequently rolls over and says 'Where's UBL?' " Rumsfeld told U.S. sailors and marines aboard the USS Essex in Singapore on Friday, referring to al-Qaida leader's initials.

You go, girl!

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Traffic jams are for the little people

The plane is expected to arrive at 2 p.m. (Wednesday) Pacific time. The casket will then be driven to a site near the Washington Monument, where it will be placed atop a horse-drawn caisson for a procession up Constitution Avenue to the Capitol, where a funeral ceremony will be held in the Rotunda of the Capitol.

CNN reports the caisson procession will be about 6:00 p.m.

Ever seen rush-hour traffic in D.C.?

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Brokaw's Dateline interview with Dubya -

Bush: Our economy hadn't been as strong as it should be. And there's people that hadn't been working. Fortunately, our economy is now strong and it's getting stronger. Job report has been very robust recently, which is positive news. In other words, people are getting back to work. The country is going to be strong economically, which means we're more able to be able to afford keeping our troops overseas.

Well, that's certainly a relief.

I was afraid we'd be wasting some of that strong economy on health care, or education, or the environment or one of those other commie librul issues.

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Where's the cheap gas?

Apparently it's in the same place as all those WMD's.

While Americans are shelling out record prices for fuel, Iraqis pay only about 5 cents a gallon for gasoline — a benefit of hundreds of millions of dollars subsidies bankrolled by American taxpayers.

Before the war, forecasters predicted that by invading Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein, America would benefit from increased exports of oil from Iraq, which has the world's second largest petroleum reserves.

That would mean cheap gas for American motorists and a boost for the oil-dependent American economy.

More than a year after the invasion, that logic has been flipped on its head. Now the average price for gasoline in the United States is running $2.05 a gallon — 50 cents more than the pre-invasion price.

There goes another basis for war.

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A fitting memorial donation to Reagan

The Reagan family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Fund.

I plan to donate the proceeds from our household's Reagan "tax cuts" from those wonderful years of "tax cuts" and spending increases.

Where do I send the bill?
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It takes a village

...as Hillary Clinton has written, to raise a child.

It also takes a goodly amount of villagers, working in concert, to deal with Mother Nature's temper tantrums.

It's that time of year, once again, when we head into hurricane season (predicted to be busier than usual), the yearly Tornado Alley orgy, and the ever-popular wildfire season in the western states.

It's also becoming the time of year when flood/hurricane/tornado/fire/earthquake-devasted citizens might ask - "Where is the National Guard??

Some soldiers in West Virginia's 1092nd Engineering Battalion got home in April from 14 months of duty in Iraq -- only to be activated in the past few days for weeks of flood-relief work in Mingo County and other southwestern parts of the state. One soldier told the state commander, Maj. Gen. Allen E. Tackett, that he had been back to his civilian job for exactly one day. "The spouses and the employers are raising hell with me," the general said.

I suppose it's part of our faith-based defense policy that natural disasters won't strike while the Guard is deployed overseas.

The North Carolina National Guard Mission Statement , in common with other states, reads as follows:

Federal - Maintain mission-ready units and guardsmen available to mobilize in support of the National Military Strategy.

State - Provide ready forces to protect life and property, and to preserve peace, order and public safety when directed by the governor.

Community - Participate in local, state and national programs that add value to our families, employers and communities.

Many of our Guardsmen are off in Iraq, pursuing the illusive "National Military Strategy", and many are getting out when their hitch is up.

Tackett said he is especially worried that his most seasoned soldiers are getting out. "A lot of my experienced people are coming back from deployments and retiring," he said. "They've paid their dues."

It isn't just the Guard that is feeling the pinch. In Montana, the Guard, facing an alert for deployment, has withdrawn its Black Hawk helicopters from the job of being the first responder to small fires that can flare into forest fires. With that system, "last year, we caught a lot of fires that we wouldn't have otherwise," Montana State Forester Bob Harrington said Friday from his office in Missoula.

Now, with the start of the fire season just a month away, Harrington is scrambling to contract for commercial choppers to fill that quick-reaction job. Their payloads are less than half that of the powerful Black Hawks, which can tote 600 gallons of water.

Smokey the Bear needs to update that slogan - "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!". It takes a village, and the village is shrinking.

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Rumsfeld fears U.S. losing long-term fight against terror

''It's quite clear to me that we do not have a coherent approach to this,'' Rumsfeld said at an international security conference.

His remarks showed a level of concern about the long-term direction of the U.S.-led global fight against terrorism that Rumsfeld rarely addresses in public.

Not at all surprising, considering the boss' lack of interest in the "long term" -

How does the president think history will judge him for going to war in Iraq?

“After the second interview with him on Dec. 11, we got up and walked over to one of the doors. There are all of these doors in the Oval Office that lead outside. And he had his hands in his pocket, and I just asked, ‘Well, how is history likely to judge your Iraq war,’” says Woodward.

“And he said, ‘History,’ and then he took his hands out of his pocket and kind of shrugged and extended his hands as if this is a way off. And then he said, ‘History, we don’t know. We’ll all be dead."

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D Day


U.S. infantrymen wade from their landing craft toward Omaha Beach. An earlier assault wave lies broken on the shore. (AP/Wide World Photos)

I never knew the uncle I lost on Omaha Beach. Maybe that's him, wading out of the landing craft. Or maybe one of the dead on the shore.

Peace to him, and to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice. To those who survived - thank you.

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Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004

I shall now break the Southern Belle Code, part III, section 8 -

"Thou shalt not speak ill of the dead - at least not directly".

Sort of.

I probably would have liked Reagan, had I met him personally. I've never wished him ill. But I despised his candidacy from the get-go.

My main reason? He put the Republican Party in bed with Jerry Falwell and his ilk. The hypocritical combination has poisoned the political atmosphere ever since.

Reagan's legacy for me? Before his presidency, I frequently voted a split ticket. I haven't voted for a Republican since - not for dogcatcher, not for county commissioner, nothing.

Until the holier-than-thou crowd is stomped & shouted down by more moderate voices, I'm ABAR. Anybody But A Republican.

I do extend my condolences to his family; the passing of a loved one is never easy and they've had a particularly rough time.

And when the initial mourning period is over, I fervently hope Nancy will continue to advocate for the stem cell research which might have enriched the last years of her husband's life.

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Mon dieu!!

France has gone on red security alert for the visit of a host of world leaders at the weekend for the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Good idea, considering the world leaders (and one world pariah) who will be present.

From midnight, the security level was upped to red on a color-coded scale, just one notch short of the highest state of alert.

WHAT!!!????

There's a higher state of alert than red?

Those damned Frechmen have done it again, upstaging our War On Terra. They have a scarlet alert.

Tom Ridge should get off his butt and address this inequity immediately.

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Kerry and health care

I still think universal health coverage is the way to go, and I hope to see the day we get there.

Brad DeLong outlines the Kerry plan, and it's an excellent step in the right direction.

And he's right - if the Bushies had any sense, they'd steal the idea immediately.

A must read.


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From the societal arbiters at Time -

The 12 Songs Of Summer
Tis the season for catchy tunes. Here's what to listen for (and avoid) in the hot months

I don't often hum anything, except maybe the first couple of measures from Beethoven's 5th Symphony at bill-paying time.

I have been known to yodel a bit from Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyrie" when riding in the car with my teenager.

But I'm definitely intrigued by one of those songs in the above-linked Time article -

Rap
"Flap Your Wings"
NELLY
Never mind that no one has heard this song yet. As one radio programmer put it, "Even if it's just Nelly farting for four minutes, every station in the country is going to play that record — probably twice an hour." Who said radio consolidation was bad? Word has it that this Neptunes-produced track from Sweat, one of two albums Nelly will be releasing simultaneously in August, is in the same vein as Country Grammar and Hot in Herre, the rapper's previous summer hits. You can bet it will have a heavily layered but distinctive beat, an instant catchphrase and lyrics about two of Nelly's great musical obsessions: pot smoking and orgies.

Let me know when the farting version comes out; I'll definitely learn that one.

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Leftover thought

I noted yesterday that prices on everyday items are outstripping wages.

I may be a little slow on the uptake, but with milk at $4.99 a gallon, and the minimum wage $5.15 an hour - how slow does that make the government?

Shame, shame, shame.


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Perhaps in need of Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides

President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides privately express growing concern over their leader’s state of mind.

In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”

Deja vu, all over again?

As the Watergate crisis deepened, Kissinger began to worry about Nixon's mental state. On October 11, 1973, according to the transcripts, he rejected a British request for a telephone conversation between the president and Prime Minister Edward Heath on the grounds that Nixon was in no condition to take the call.

If you ask me, the time to start worrying about Bush's behavior is long past - back when he was a kid blowing up frogs.

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Early morning brain dump

Bush consults private attorney over CIA leak probe

I know it's "old news" by now.

I was just wondering if Dick Cheney was available to hold his hand during the discussions.

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The Seven Senses

1. Sight
2. Hearing
3. Touch
4. Smell
5. Taste
6. Extra-sensory
7. George W. Bush

Bush Senses 'Spirit of Unity' on Iraq

He also thinks he's on the same level as FDR, Eisenhower, and Churchill; plays with Saddam's handgun, and pretends to be a Texas rancher.

That is all.

Move along.

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Reagan

The latest buzz is that Ronald Reagan's health has deteriorated drastically, and the family has been called to his side.

He was a disastrous president and an audacious liar who surrounded himself with dangerous advisors. Sound familiar?

Still, I wish him a peaceful end, and offer my thoughts of condolence and peace to his family.

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God’s hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
(John Donne "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions", #17).

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Reality bites

I don't watch "reality shows" - I have plenty of reality in my life already.

And nothing clues you in to reality as much as putting gas in the old vehicle and taking a trip to the grocery store.

When I need a good dose of fantasy, I turn to the Republicans and various economists who keep telling us the economy is improving, the jobs are waiting for the jobless, and everything will be okey-dokey (be sure to vote for Bush).

They seem to be a little confused and offended that consumer confidence continues to fall.

Allow me to offer these geniuses a clue from "what's a trust fund?" land.

Strike One: All those jobs that are being created aren't necessarily good paying jobs, or even pay an equivalent salary to those lost.

Mr. Andante recently lost his job; he was very, very fortunate to find something else quickly, but the salary is much lower. He traded a good salary for better hours and working conditions, which is fine by me as long as I don't have to give up my internet service.

Many of our friends and relatives are victims of massive layoffs in the textile industry. Some of them are now gainfully employed at Wal Mart, for half the salary and no benefits. They consider themselves lucky, but are definitely asking themselves "am I better off now than I was four years ago?".

Strike Two: Health insurance costs are killing the economy. The stupid, "new and improved" Medicare relief plan is like a staph-infected bandaid, which will only make things worse in the future.

Other developed countries have had some form of social insurance (that later evolved into national insurance) for nearly as long as the US has been trying to get it. Some European countries started with compulsory sickness insurance, one of the first systems, for workers beginning in Germany in 1883; other countries including Austria, Hungary, Norway, Britain, Russia, and the Netherlands followed all the way through 1912. Other European countries, including Sweden in 1891, Denmark in 1892, France in 1910, and Switzerland in 1912, subsidized the mutual benefit societies that workers formed among themselves. So for a very long time, other countries have had some form of universal health care or at least the beginnings of it. The primary reason for the emergence of these programs in Europe was income stabilization and protection against the wage loss of sickness rather than payment for medical expenses, which came later. (Physicians For a National Health Program; "A Brief History: Universal Health Care Efforts in the US"; March 29, 2003)

We are still in our "waiting period" for the new health insurance to kick in. When it does, it will add to the financial blow. Since this is a small company, the premiums, deductibles, and copays are nearly double what we paid when he worked for a larger corporation. And the company has notified employees that they will all be going UP in another month.

Strike Three: If the powers-that-be ever bothered to crawl out of their ivory towers or congressional offices, they might be surprised at the cost of every day ordinary things. Like gasoline, for which I paid thirty-cents per gallon less just a month or so ago. Or a gallon of milk, which cost $4.99 gallon at the grocery store today. Even the el-cheapo store brand loaf of bread (several days old) was $1.97.

Inflation hits the family dinner table
Let's start with breakfast. Eggs: up 5.2 percent so far this year. Butter for your bread: up 62 percent. A glass of 2 percent milk to wash it all down: It may rise as much as 50 cents a gallon next month.

Time to head to work: filling up the gas tank now costs 30 cents a gallon more since January.

After more than a decade of quiescence, inflation is returning - eating away at family pocketbooks and rippling through almost every segment of the American economy.

Remember when then-candidate Bill Clinton was asked if he knew the price of a pair of blue jeans? A loaf of bread?

Lord have mercy - I'd love to hear someone ask Dubya those same questions.

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Sounds like a pretty good fatwa to me

Juan Cole translates Sistani's pronouncement.

Numero uno - "Obtain a clear resolution from the United Nations Security Council on the return of complete sovereignty over their country to the Iraqis, unconstrained in any regard, whether political, economic, military, or security-related. Every effort must be made to efface all signs of occupation in every way."


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ROTFLMAO

Josh Marshall -

Having said all that, beside the possibility that the White House's favored Iraqi exile was an Iranian agent, that the spy chief just got canned, that the OSD is wired to polygraphs, and that the president has had to retain outside counsel in the investigation into which members of his staff burned one of the country's own spies, I'd say the place is being run like a pretty well-oiled machine.

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OPEC raises oil production ceiling, pledges adequate supply

Oh, goody.

Now we'll get to pay more for the privilege of running out of it sooner.


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Make a Bushie's head explode

View the trailer for "Fahrenheit 9/11"
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Bush skips over Eisenhower reference to 'crusade'

President Bush deleted the word "crusade" - considered an inflammatory reference by Muslims - on Wednesday as he recalled Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's message to Allied troops before the D-Day invasion at Normandy, France, 60 years ago.

In a commencement address to Air Force graduates, Bush noted that he will be in France on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the World War II landing that led to the liberation of Europe.

"On this day in 1944, General Eisenhower sat down at his headquarters in the English countryside and wrote out a message to the troops who would soon invade Normandy," Bush said.

In that message, Eisenhower said: "Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you."

Bush quoted Eisenhower's greeting, omitted the next sentence with the words "Great Crusade" and picked up with the line, "The eyes of the world are upon you."

Bush has been careful to avoid the word "crusade." In September 2001, he said through his spokesman that he regretted using the word, with all its historical connotations of religious war by Christians against Muslims, to describe his campaign against terrorists.

Am I the only one who resents Bush trying to liken his "War On Terra" to World War II? And himself to Eisenhower?

Wasn't it Molly Ivins who said something like waging a "war on terror" is akin to the United States waging war on airplanes after Pearl Harbor?

And comparing Bush to Eisenhower? Don't get me started.....

Update - see what I mean?

Bush will rank high, Rice says
Security chief believes he will be compared with Roosevelt and Churchill

As President Bush begins a week of foreign diplomacy, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice insists that he will one day rank alongside such towering pillars of 20th century statecraft as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Damn. No wonder national security is such a mess. She's insane.



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Where's Barney Fife when you need him?


Back in April, some heathen stole the plaque from the statue commemorating The Andy Griffith Show, which is displayed in a Raleigh, NC park.

If that wasn't bad enough, now the fishing rods have been stolen.

There just ain't nothing sacred anymore. 
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Ruling Means New Jersey Taverns Cannot Offer 'ladies Night' Discounts on Drinks, Cover Charges

The state's top civil rights official has ruled that taverns cannot offer discounts to women on "ladies nights," agreeing with a man who claimed such gender-based promotions discriminated against men.

I am sure this relates somehow to that evil homosexual agenda, but I'm not sure how.

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More "good news" for the troops

Army Expands Program Aimed at Keeping Soldiers on Duty Beyond the Time Their Tours Expire

The Army will prevent soldiers in units set to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from leaving the service at the end of their terms, a top general said Wednesday.

The announcement, an expansion of an Army program called "stop-loss," means that thousands of soldiers who had expected to retire or otherwise leave the military will have to stay on for the duration of their deployment to those combat zones.

The expansion affects units that are 90 days away or less from deploying, said Lt. Gen. Frank L. "Buster" Hagenbeck, the Army's deputy chief of staff for personnel.

Let's see; what other great ideas can we come up with?

How about replacing the Kevlar in the body armor (that we're still short on) with tinfoil?

How about delaying mail delivery? Oh, wait - we're already doing that.

Stay tuned as those wacky folks at the Department of Defense, Pentagon, and White House come up with ever more fun ways to keep the troops on their toes!

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Welcome to the Axis of Evil

First, someone in the Bush administration leaked the name of a CIA operative to Bob Novak (see "Plame, Valerie").

Now we hear neocon golden boy, Ahmad Chalabi, tipped off Axis of Evil Charter Memmber Iran that the U.S. had broken the Iranian intelligence system's code.

Isn't it just a little odd that our War Preznit's administration would be a security threat?

Unbelievable.

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Damned activist judges

There they go again - Federal judge says partial-birth abortion ban unconstitutional

How dare they interfere with the rightwing's right to interfere with our rights.
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Student Who Plagiarized Sues School

Michael Gunn, a 21-year-old English student at Kent University in Britain who admits plagiarizing material from the Web, said the school should have warned him that using already published text was against the rules, according to the BBC.

"I did plagiarize. I never dreamt it was a problem,” Gunn told the news service.

Gunn, who was told on the eve of his final exams that he wouldn’t get any grades for his course work, is angry that his education — and the money he paid for it — is going to waste.

I guess American children aren't the only ones that isn't learning.


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War and peace - the way we were

Katster at Live from the Nuke-Free Zone reminds us of the changing face of America in regards to war and peace.

What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.

(snip)

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough--more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on--not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.

Commencement Address at American University, President John F. Kennedy, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963

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The G.I. Bill

From 1944 to 1949, nearly 9 million veterans received close to $4 billion from the G.I. bill's unemployment compensation program. The education and training provisions existed until 1956, providing benefits to nearly 10 million veterans. The Veterans' Administration offered insured loans until 1962, and they totaled more than $50 billion. The economic assistance provided by the G.I. bill and the Veterans' Administration accelerated the postwar demand for goods and services.

Expensive? Certainly.

But the country was repaid immeasurably by the G.I.'s who learned a trade, got a college degree, and made great advances in American science and technology.

Low-interest home mortgage loans financed by the federal government created a housing boom, which in turn provided further fuel to the economy.

Statistically, the law far exceeded anyone's expectations. It provided education vouchers to 8 million veterans. It doubled the ratio of homeowners from one in three before the war to two in three afterwards. And according to a 1986 government study, each dollar invested in the bill yielded 5 to 12 dollars in tax revenues. Over the years, the GI Bill has been called many things by historians and veterans alike - a Marshall Plan for America, a Magic Carpet to the Middle Class.

(PBS Newshour, Jim Lehrer)

Former Senator George McGovern, providing insight and commentary during the WWII Memorial dedication telecast, said "Maybe we need a new GI Bill".

Right on, Senator.

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Happy Memorial Day

Spending a part of my day scanning old pictures and testing "Hello" software for uploading pictures to the blog.

The pictures that follow are from the day my father retired from the Army after a 25-year career.
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Yet another Dad-retires-from-Army picture; on the reviewing stand at Ft. Myers, VA, preparing to review the troops. 
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More retire-from-Army memories; Dad gets a certificate of appreciation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Taken somewhere deep in the bowels of the Pentagon, 1955. 
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More Dad-retiring-from-Army memories; on the reviewing stand at Fort Myers, VA, 1955. 
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Memorial Day means memories; this was taken in 1955 at the Pentagon, when my father retired from the Army. That's Dad on the left, Mom in the background, my godfather on the right - and yes, five-year-old Andante in the middle, inspecting various shiny retirement gifts. 
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Wimpy applause and a presidential brawl?
I was watching the WWII Memorial dedication until Dubya started speaking; like all good Americans should, I then switched the channel to a ball game.

There were tens of thousands of people at that ceremony; mostly WWII vets and their families.

Is it my imagination, wishful thinking, or can anyone confirm - when Bush was introduced, didn't there appear to be a lot of people standing there NOT applauding?

Kos has a post on a little shoving incident (?) that took place between the last legally elected President and Poppy.

I didn't see that one - but I'll put a twenty-spot on Hillary to take down Bar in less than two minutes.

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Something you can ask your conservative friends to think about

A big, sloppy kiss and tip of the hat to Tinheart and his post Principles of Leadershit.

When I read things like that, I want to stand up and cheer. Go read it, right now.

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Preznit Mighty War Chief's radio address -

Through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we have known the costs of war. And in every generation, it is the best among us who are called to pay that price. Those who have paid those costs have given us every moment we live in freedom, and every living American is in their debt. We can never repay what they gave for this country. But on this holiday, we acknowledge the debt by showing our respect and gratitude.

"Gone to war reluctantly", my ass. Bush couldn't WAIT to start a war and parade around in a uniform he never earned and doesn't deserve.

And note the "it is the best among us who are called to pay that price."

George, you ain't anywhere near the best, and haven't even begun to pay.

But I guess it is tough, having all that blood on your hands. And maybe he missed a party or two when he couldn't get out of a drill weekend.

Lord willing and the creek don't rise, the price Bush is finally going to pay is defeat in November.


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Love a WWII vet

Our precious World War II veterans are passing away at the rate of 1,000 per day.

My favorite WWII vet - my dad - died about four years ago. I still miss him desperately.

A year before he died, one of my daughter's eighth-grade teachers asked if anyone in the class had a relative who had served in WWII who might be willing to come talk to the class about their experiences.

My daughter "volunteered" her unassuming, humble, quiet Grandpa. To my immense surprise, he accepted.

He took the old black and white pictures he had taken in New Guinea and at the surrender in Tokyo Bay. He showed them his dress uniform, Bronze Star, various other decorations, dog tags, the watchband he made from metal scavenged from a downed Japanese "Betty", and regaled them with stories of malaria, Army food, and half-naked natives. Some of it probably true.

The kids loved it, and bombarded him with questions. He went back a second day, just to finish answering all their questions.

A year later, the kids had moved on to high school; but when he was in the hospital they sent him handmade "get well" cards and little gifts.

If you have any influence with a group's program selection, suggest having a World War II vet come and speak. Do it now, before they're all gone.

You can honor a member of "The Greatest Generation" - someone killed in World War II, someone who served in WWII, or a civilian who served on the home front by entering their name in the National World War II Memorial Registry.

You will need to register with your name, address, and e-mail address.

You'll need the following information on the honoree -
Full name
Status (killed in WWII, served in WWII, civilian on home front)
Branch of service
Your relationship to the honoree
Hometown and state from which the honoree entered service
A brief description of the honoree's service during the war

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What WILL we tell Rick Santorum?

Man Commits Suicide After Sex with Hen

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Bush Says He Has Cure for Illegible Prescriptions

I suppose we could ask, "Is our doctors learning?".

Good old Doc Bush's cure -

Bush touted a goal of storing most Americans' medical records in electronic form within 10 years, saying that would reduce paperwork costs and cut down on medical errors.

"Docs are still spending a lot of time writing things on paper. And sometimes it's difficult to read their handwriting," Bush told an audience at Vanderbilt University in the election battleground state of Tennessee."

That faux-folksy "docs" makes me grind my teeth, but so does the idea that my medical records would be available at the click of a mouse to any clerk at any health insurance company.

On the White House web site, we get a little more information about the proposal, including a couple of nods to "patient privacy".

"Adopting Health Information Standards to allow medical information to be stored and shared electronically while maintaining privacy"

"The use of health information technology will improve America's health care system and put the needs and privacy of the patient first"

"The President's proposed FY 2005 budget includes $100 million for demonstration projects that will help us test the effectiveness of health IT, paving the way for widespread adoption of health IT while assuring the privacy and security of the patient's medical information"

As it happens, I agree in principle with the proposal. Far too many people are killed or disabled because of our lousy paper-based system of record keeping, not to mention lost or misinterpreted records fouling up or slowing down treatment

But as long as the health insurance industry has a stranglehold on our heath care system, there is just too much potential for abuse.

I don't trust these goobers in the administration as far as I can throw them. And I want to know that my medical information would be at least as securely guarded as the preznit's National Guard service records.

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Time's D-Day issue on-line

Recently, I posted a bit from Time magazine's article on the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

It's on-line now, and worth more than a casual look.

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Summertime, Dick Cheney and tomatoes

Yeah, I'd like to throw a few at him, but we're talking a different Dick Cheney here.

I don't care what the calendar says, or when the sun sets - when it's 91 degrees at eleven o'clock in the morning...it's summer.

One of summer's little joys, in addition to iced tea, is tomatoes.

I don't mean the "hothouse" kind; if I want those, I'll paint a ball of styrofoam red and save myself $2.69 a pound.

There is no possibility of a decent BLT sandwich with "hothouse" tomatoes, or even the kind that are picked way before their prime then shipped from a thousand miles away.

Only home-grown, sun-ripened tomatoes give that proper, juicy drippiness that ruins all your shirts and goes so well with hot weather.

The only decent tomatoes are the kind you grow in your own garden, or a generous friend gives from their garden. The kind that are nourished by rain, ripened by the sun, picked at their prime, and eaten within twenty-four hours.

In addition to death and taxes, there is one more certainty in life; if you plant tomatoes, you are in for either a long hot-dry spell, or a long cool-rainy spell. The weather in this part of the country is never "just right".

So we're having that blistering hot, bone dry weather, and I'm watering tomatoes twice a day - early morning, late evening.

And of all things - a 3-foot-long black snake has taken up residence in our backyard.

The first time I saw him, I was watering the tomatoes. I did what any respectable snake-hater would do, and turned the hose on him.

(I'm not being sexist here; I just refuse to entertain the notion that he is a she, and could reproduce in my backyard.)

He didn't seem to appreciate the baptism, but as he slithered away I pronounced his official name - Dick Cheney.

Undeterred, he slithers out of his secret, undisclosed location at the least expected times, scares the crap out of me, then disappears. It's always when I'm alone; therefore Mr. Andante thinks he's a figment of my imagination.

"Besides, he's just a vice-president black snake - he wouldn't cause any harm."

As I mowed the backyard today with our Fred Flintstone-vintage push mower, I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

Sure enough, Dick Cheney was slithering just a few yards away, probably scared by the lawnmower noise.

Only fellow snake-haters can appreciate the next part; I screwed up my tiny reserve of courage and started chasing him with the lawn mower.

"Chasing" is quite an overstatement, as this lawn mower weighs a ton and never goes faster than the slowest walking-pace. In any case, I wouldn't hurt him; I would never intentionally do violence to a living creature; even that other Dick Cheney.

Besides, scaring him away is much less traumatic (for me and the snake) than what my friend did to her particular reptilian nemesis - she sucked him up in her vacuum cleaner.

But he started getting shorter - actually, he was pouring himself down a hole in the ground. Eureka! I'd found his undisclosed, secret location!

I positioned the lawn mower right over the hole while I rushed to obtain my weapon of choice....a cinder block to cover the hole.

Dick Cheney may have an escape hatch down there, and may yet pop out to frighten me in the future.

But like his namesake, I'm hoping a loud, angry roar, a dousing with cold water, and the front door slammed shut in his face will keep him underground for a good long time.

I'll just have to be vigilant, in case he tries to sneak in through the back door.



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Stream of consciousness ranting

Maureen Dowd -

John Kerry's advisers were surprised and annoyed to hear that Mr. Gore hollered so much, he made Howard Dean look like George Pataki. They don't want voters to be reminded of the wackadoo wing of the Democratic Party.

My dear Maureen, speaking for the wackadoo wing of the Democratic Party - bite me.

I'm sick and tired of Democrats having to apologize for being passionate about wanting what's best for the country.

....and I'm equally sick and tired of Democratic candidates trying to disguise their party affiliation.

On TV, we have Erskine Bowles, who has a good chance of winning the Senate seat John Edwards is vacating, calling himself an "independent-minded" candidate with proven experience in reaching out to the other side. It's a nice, positive ad, but not once does he utter the word "Democratic".

Maybe that's the best way for a Democrat to win in North Carolina, but damn it - just for once, I wish he'd say it - loud and proud.

In the meantime, Bill Cobey (Republican candidate for governor) drags senile sh*t Jesse Helms in front of the camera to yammer about being a good Republican, good Christian, and "principled conservative". Not a word about working with the other side of the aisle for the good of all, and not a word needed.

It's not the Republican way.


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Wow

Check out The Real President's remarks here.

Food for thought -

How did we get from September 12th , 2001, when a leading French newspaper ran a giant headline with the words "We Are All Americans Now" and when we had the good will and empathy of all the world -- to the horror that we all felt in witnessing the pictures of torture in Abu Ghraib.

Supposedly, Al Queda intends to hit us again, and hit us hard.

If we have another 9/11-event, what will the headlines say this time?

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Another son of a former president

It was quite a sight. There was the oldest man in the D-day invasion, 56-year-old Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jt. (son of the former President) barking orders at Utah Beach. Although he had a heart condition, Roosevelt insisted that his presence and leadership would help boost troop morale. With German artillery exploding all around him, he paraded up and down Utah Beach, ordering U.S. tanks to secure the flanks and U.S. engineers to breach eight 50-yd. lanes through beach obstacles. He refused to wear a helmet, preferring to don a knit wool hat. "We have landed in the wrong place", shouted Roosevelt, who would receive the Medal of Honor for his valor that day. "But we will start the war from here."

(Time, May 31, 2004)

Time magazine is generally a rag, but anyone with an interest and appreciation for World War II history must get the May, 31 edition.

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Help!

I'm trapped in a small house with an American Idol-crazy teenager!

Here in Rightwing Heaven, we're just down the road from High Point, N.C. - hometown of one of the finalists.

It's All Fantasia, All The Time.

Ouch.

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Afghani-who?

The George W. Bush Nation Building Plan
1. Wash (invade country)
2. Rinse (install leader)
3. Hang out to dry (ignore)

The Independent has learnt that an all-party group of MPs from the Foreign Affairs Committee has returned from a visit to the country shocked and alarmed by what they witnessed. They warn that urgent action must be taken to save Afghanistan from plunging further into chaos because of Western neglect.

As President Bush and Tony Blair unveil their plans today for the future of Iraq through the draft of a new United Nations resolution, the MPs warn that the mistakes of Afghanistan could be repeated with similar tragic consequences in Iraq.

Eric Ilsley, a Labour member of the committee, said: "Afghanistan is a basket case. It's a forgotten country." Shortly after the conflict, Mr Blair pledged to the Afghan people: "This time we will not walk away from you", as the United States and Britain had been accused of doing following the mujahedin's war against the Soviet Union.

But MPs and international aid agencies say that is, in effect, what has happened. With the focus of Washington and London firmly on Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan has been allowed to unravel. The remaining infrastructure is shattered, opium production is rocketing, and the Taliban and warlords are back in control of large areas.

(snip)

Hamid Karzai, President of the interim Afghan government, praised the role of British troops in getting warlords to disarm in his meeting with the parliamentary delegation. Afghan officials say he is under pressure from the US to hold elections in September, prior to the American presidential elections in November, so that President George Bush can show how democracy has been successfully nurtured in the country.

However, the Afghan elections, originally scheduled for June, have already been postponed once due to the unsafe security situation. The UN reports that attacks by the Taliban have led to only 1.6 million out of the 10.5 million eligible electors being registered.

The Liberal Democrat MP David Chidgey added: "The UK troops are doing a wonderful job but we found only 30 looking after an area the size of Scotland. It's a disgrace. Allowing the Afghan operation to remain a forgotten theatre means warlords, funded by drugs profits, will continue to flourish."

Taliban attacks on aid workers has led to many humanitarian projects being abandoned.

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