what do christina applegate, wu tang clan

plato, the lincoln memorial, rastafarians, cool hand luke, joe montana, tony montana, some buddhist monks and denny's have in common?

ah, you think it's going to be a joke don't you. well it sort of is BUT NOT REALLY. they are ALL being sued by inmate #40948-018

Man of Many Suits
Jonathan Lee Riches Sues Everyone and Everything

emil steiner
Roy Pearson's title as most frivolous litigant may be in jeopardy. The challenger to his crown is a 30-year-old federal prisoner named Jonathan Lee Riches, aka "The Nostradamus of Commerce," "The Credit Card Czar," "The White Suge Knight" and inmate #40948-018 at the Federal Correctional Institution Williamsburg in Salters, S.C., where he is serving a 125-month bid for identity theft.
During his time behind bars, Riches has filed no less than 19 lawsuits in federal court, almost all handwritten, in which he sues people (living and dead), companies (real and imagined), ideologies, websites, landmarks, universities, charities, planets, books, historical documents, countries, movies, rappers and the "13 tribes of Israel." And that's a partial list. One lawsuit, in fact, takes 56 pages to name 783 defendants...........

i personally think mr riches, the white suge knight is crazy. CRAZY AS A FOX that is

bring it on BRING IT ON!!!

In Japan, it's all games until you break an arm

TOKYO (AP) — Lose a game of chess to a computer, and you could bruise your ego. Lose an arm-wrestling match to a Japanese arcade machine, and you could break your arm.
Distributor Atlus said Tuesday it will remove all 150 Arm Spirit arm wrestling machines from Japanese arcades after three players broke their arms grappling with the machine's mechanized appendage.
"The machine isn't that strong, much less so than a muscular man. Even women should be able to beat it," said Atlus spokeswoman Ayano Sakiyama, calling the recall "a precaution."..........

the road up mt equinox

Certain rows of dubious flapping tongues
Have questioned what is termed 'your happiness'
But I stand mute
For I see
You hold the gift of mirth
And that is worth more than
All the lines of tears
That can be licked from analytical lips

i believe that is how the poem went. i am certain i have a copy of it somewhere. perhaps in my parents attic. it was written for me while i was in high school by my best friend (at the time and for many many many years afterward. we haven't spoken though in well over ten years) phillip

(i had told him a story of how my parents brought me and my sistettes, while we were all little grrrls, on a road trip to mt equinox. it was NOT a pleasant trip)

a blog i came across today

when knitting was a manly art

wonderful wonderful pictures such as this one:

super

chick sisters

(a game on the peta website. pam anderson goes after kfc and frees a bunch o' boids in the process)

the museum

of scientifically accurate fabric brain art

.........This is the world's largest collection of anatomically correct fabric brain art. Inspired by research from neuroscience, dissection and neuroeconomics, our current exhibition features three quilts with functional images from PET and fMRI scanning, a knitted brain, and two fabric pieces interpreting single neuron recording. The artists are Marjorie Taylor, Karen Norberg, and Patricia Jauch. Techniques used include quilting, applique, embroidery, beadwork, knitting, and crocheting. Materials include fabric, yarn, metallic threads, electronic components such as magnetic core memory, and wire, zippers, and beads........

how cool is THIS?

BEAUTIFUL BRAINS

...To neuroscience researchers, the human brain is a complex organ riddled with mystery. But to developmental psychologist Marjorie Taylor and psychiatrist Karen Norberg, it's also an inspiration for unique quilts, knitting, and other work that they showcase in an online museum of "scientifically accurate fabric brain art."........

knitted brain mri

.........You've already seen the knitted brain, an anatomically accurate yarn sculpture of the brain by Karen Norberg? With a zipper at the corpus collosum. It's been featured in Science, Knitting Help, the Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art and oodles of blogs over time.
Then there's this: data vis whiz Mark Dow rendered an MRI scan of the knitted brain. Fantastic. Click below, and here's the video link. Thanks Mark! He adds a P.S., "By the way, an obscure point of pride: The model for Marjorie Taylor's fabric brain piece 'Marjorie Taylor #1' at The Museum of [Scientifically Accurate] Fabric Brain Art is a sagital MRI slice of my very own brain. Lookin' good." Lookin' very good...........

Drinking Liberally in New Milford: Three Amigos Arrested at SPP talks in Montebello

Drinking Liberally in New Milford: Three Amigos Arrested at SPP talks in Montebello

that connecticut man - makes a damn good catch (again)

hmmmmmmm in england

if you make a racist verbal attack you get arrested (the racist attack is JUST ALLEGED so far)

in the united states, YOU GET YOUR OWN NATIONAL RADIO SHOW (i'm NOT going to link to either flush limberger or crusty the clown imus)

Pop singer Hayes in race arrest

a bit more on radical fundamentalism

oh NOT theirs, BUT OURS!!! why can't ANYONE remember: SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. believe all you want. just do it on YOUR OWN TIME.

amen
Not so fast, Christian soldiers
The Pentagon has a disturbing relationship with private evangelical groups

.......................Take, for instance, the recent scandal involving Christian Embassy, a group whose expressed purpose is to proselytize to military personnel, diplomats, Capitol Hill staffers and political appointees. In a shocking breach of security, Defense Department officials allowed a Christian Embassy film crew to roam the corridors of the Pentagon unescorted while making a promotional video featuring high-ranking officers and political appointees. (Christian Embassy, which holds prayer meetings weekly at the Pentagon, is so entrenched that Air Force Maj. Gen. John J. Catton Jr. said he'd assumed the organization was a "quasi-federal entity.")The Pentagon's inspector general recently released a report recommending unspecified "corrective action" for those officers who appeared in the video for violating Defense Department regulations. But, in a telling gesture, the report avoided any discussion of how allowing an evangelical group to function within the Defense Department is an obvious violation of the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment.The extent to which such relationships have damaged international goodwill toward the U.S. is beyond measure. As the inspector general noted, a leading Turkish newspaper, Sabah, published an article on Air Force Maj. Gen. Peter Sutton, who is the U.S. liaison to the Turkish military -- and who appeared in the Christian Embassy video. The article described Christian Embassy as a "radical fundamentalist sect," perhaps irreparably damaging Sutton's primary job objective of building closer ties to the Turkish General Staff, which has expressed alarm at the influence of fundamentalist Christian groups inside the U.S. military.Our military personnel swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not the Bible..............

an article by christina page

says contraception MAY BE eliminated. i respectfully disagree with her on that issue. i don't care HOW conservative one is, i KNOW mothers and fathers out there do NOT want their 15 and 16 and 17 (and younger OR older) daughters and sons to be parents. i know anyone with HALF a brain knows abstinance DOES NOT WORK. look at the figures, look at the studies. we as women DEMAND the RIGHT to use birth control should we choose it. we will NEVER give that up. NEVER. the percentage who wish to ban birth control is miniscule. they may even SAY to others they 'don't believe' in it, YET many in private use it. as an example MANY MANY MANY catholics i know USE THE PILL. SHOCKING! (well no, not really). you just keep your laws OFF OF MY BODY

(p.s. does anyone in the entire universe doubt those bush twins are on the pill???)

The Quiet Campaign Against Birth Control

by Cristina Page
At National Right to Life’s conference this year, Mitt Romney set out to convince anti-abortion leaders he was their candidate. At the podium, he rattled off his qualifications. To a layman’s ears, it sounded pretty standard for abortion politics. He wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. He supports teaching only abstinence to teens.
But for those trained to hear the subtleties, Mr. Romney was acknowledging something more. He implied an opposition to the birth control pill and a willingness to join in their efforts to scale back access to contraception. There are code phrases to listen for - and for those keeping score, Mr. Romney nailed each one.
One code phrase is: “I fought to define life as beginning at conception rather than at the time of implantation.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines pregnancy as starting at implantation, the first moment a pregnancy can be known. Anti-abortion advocates want pregnancy to start at the unknown moment sperm and egg meet: fertilization. They’d also like you to believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that the birth control pill prevents that fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.
Mr. Romney’s code, deciphered, meant, “I, like you, hope to reclassify the most commonly used forms of contraceptives as abortions.” In fact, he told the crowd, he already had some practice redefining contraception: “I vetoed a so-called emergency contraception bill that gave young girls abortive drugs without prescription or parental consent.”.....

uno mas

DOWN

(not sure if uno mas is correct. i obviously do NOT speak spanish. although my friend maria from el salvador, big maria, not to be confused with my other friend little maria from guatamala, has taught me a few things....)

Justice Department lawyer accused of partisanship resigns

By Greg Gordon McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Former acting civil rights chief and U.S. attorney Bradley Schlozman, who was a central figure in the controversy over alleged partisan decision-making in the Bush Justice Department, has resigned, a department spokesman said Wednesday.
While acting chief of the department's civil rights division in the latter half of 2005, Schlozman allegedly drove liberal-leaning employees from the unit and hired partisans to replace them.
Later, during his one-year stint as interim U.S. attorney for Kansas City, he allegedly brought politically motivated vote-fraud indictments days before the 2006 elections.
After he was replaced as U.S. attorney by John Wood last spring, Schlozman was shifted to a senior post in the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys at Justice Department headquarters.
On Wednesday, department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse confirmed a report, first circulated by the Internet blog TPM Muckraker, that Schlozman had left that post on his own volition. He declined to elaborate.
Schlozman becomes at least the sixth department official to resign in the wake of a furor over partisanship that grew from last year's firing of nine U.S. attorneys. He couldn't be reached for comment...................

why am i hearing jim morrison's voice

singing 'this is the end' (over the sound of muted helicopter blades) in the back of my mind?

vietnam - yes?
vietnam - no?

we stayed too long in vietnam NOT left too soon. remember that

anyway, here's an analysis of the king's speech
Apocalypse ... Now? Press Explores Bush's Iraq/Vietnam Link

By Greg Mitchell
NEW YORK After years of mocking those who drew comparisons between the U.S. engagements in Vietnam and Iraq, war supporters are now invoking them – led by commander-in-chief George W. Bush, in a much-publicized speech today at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City. Now, how will the media respond to the “Vietnamization” of rhetoric on Iraq, as unveiled by President Bush today? At least three major papers quickly sought out critics who have tried to debunk it. USA Today located Stanley Karnow, one of the leading scholars on the Vietnam war. “Vietnam was not a bunch of sectarian groups fighting each other,” as in Iraq. “Does he think we should have stayed in Vietnam?” Robert Dallek, author of several celebrated biographies of recent U.S. presidents, including Lyndon Johnson, told the Los Angeles Times: “"It just boggles my mind, the distortions I feel are perpetrated here by the president."We were in Vietnam for 10 years. We dropped more bombs on Vietnam than we did in all of World War II in every theater. We lost 58,700 American lives, the second-greatest loss of lives in a foreign conflict. And we couldn't work our will," he said............

duh!

like we didn't know this was the case anyway! nothing king george and his court have done and will do IS above board. i don't believe anything they say. i don't trust them. they have committed crimes against humanity. congress is doing nothing. i will remember that next election

White House Declares Office Off-Limits
Administrator of Missing E-Mails Not Subject to Open-Records Law, It Says

By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer
The Bush administration argued in court papers this week that the White House Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act as part of its effort to fend off a civil lawsuit seeking the release of internal documents about a large number of e-mails missing from White House servers.
The claim, made in a motion filed Tuesday by the Justice Department, is at odds with a depiction of the office on the White House's own Web site. As of yesterday, the site listed the Office of Administration as one of six presidential entities subject to the open-records law, which is commonly known by its abbreviation, FOIA.......

oh yeah, one more thing. king george and his court work for US. as long as there is no super secret info on those emails (secret as in it would doom america) WE HAVE A RIGHT TO SEE THEM

and now after all of the war talk and animal abuse talk

and natural disaster talk, here's a little JOKE

100*

yes that's right. they claim they are ONLY tapping 100* people in the united states. they've outright lied about EVERYTHING they've done. 100* my big fat ass

McConnell: Fewer Than 100 Secret U.S. Wiretaps
Domestic Terror Cases 'Manageable'

By Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer
Law enforcement officials are targeting fewer than 100 people in the United States for secret court-approved wiretaps aimed at disrupting terrorist networks, the top U.S. intelligence official said in an interview published yesterday.
The relatively low number of those under surveillance in this country stands in contrast with "thousands" of people overseas whose calls and e-mails are monitored for possible links to terrorism, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said.................

*on second thought they said 100 LEGAL COURT APPROVED wire taps. i DO believe that. what i want to know is how many ILLEGAL wiretaps they have going. FAR MORE than 100 and if you don't believe that get the f**k away from me

please please please

click on THIS LINK

it will bring you here: Words Unspoken Are Rendered on War’s Faces

photos (and accompanying story) by nina berman of wounded vets. no politics just pictures and stories

(i did publish her most noted photo: 'marine wedding' a while ago. i am not going to do that again. just click on that link)

NEW MISGIVINGS?

you pack of gutless spineless whining do-nothings! new? YOU F**KING SHOULD HAVE HAD MISGIVINGS ALL ALONG! so many, this NEVER should have been passed to begin with.

believe me, if i have to vote for ralph nader come election time i will. the democrats are pissing me off almost as much as king george and his court.

New misgivings on wiretap law
Some Democrats regret updating FISA to expand the NSA's ability to tap American calls.

By Peter Grier Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Washington - The administration's warrantless wiretapping program looks set to be the subject of renewed and bitter wrangling between Congress and the White House when lawmakers return to Washington in September.
And this upcoming battle promises to be far more complex than a run-of-the-mill dispute over an agriculture bill, say, or tax legislation. The law in this area is unusually dense and difficult. The underlying activity is classified. One of the key administration figures dealing with the issue is Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, an official in whom many in Congress have little trust.
"Essentially, it's a difficult situation to have a rational conversation on the merits," says Benjamin Wittes, an expert on national security law at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
The expanded snooping powers of the National Security Agency (NSA) have been controversial ever since they became public in 2006. To critics, the program opens the door to the possibility of dangerous infringement on the civil liberties of US citizens. To supporters, they're a necessary tool against terrorism in an era of cellphones and Internet communications. ......

a better question is:

why wasn't the training available to ALL military BEFORE NOW? we OWE it to EACH AND EVERY one of them

newsobserver.com/505/story/669833.html

Jay Price, Staff Writer FORT BRAGG - Fort Bragg leaders for several months have been fighting Humvee rollovers -- the kind of accident that claimed a 21-year-old soldier from the base Sunday in Afghanistan -- with cutting-edge training and simulators.
Pvt. Alan J. Austin of Houston died near Forward Operating Base Sharana, one of three North Carolina-based soldiers that the Pentagon announced Monday had been killed in separate incidents. His name joins those of more than 100 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2004 after top-heavy armored trucks, usually Humvees, rolled over. Often the turret gunner, whose torso protrudes from the roof, is the victim.
The Army takes the rollover problem so seriously that it's planning to make the training that has been available at Fort Bragg since January mandatory for all soldiers before they deploy.
Rollovers may be impossible to eliminate, given the unwieldy trucks, harsh road conditions and aggressive driving made necessary by roadside bombs and insurgents. But classroom training and high-tech simulators give Humvee passengers lessons in how to stay alive when the accidents happen.
Indeed, Army safety experts say that the number of rollover fatalities has been declining steadily since 2004, after crude versions of the training began.......

a response from the military

to the nyt oped written by the seven soldiers


Military Responds To 7 Soldiers' Critical Op-Ed in 'NYT' On Iraq


By Joe Strupp


NEW YORK Military officials responded Tuesday to a unique New York Times Op-Ed column by seven U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq that had raised concerns about the operation there, saying they had the right to voice their opinions -- but urged readers to take other viewpoints into account."The individuals' perspectives expressed in the New York Times reflect their unique 'boots-on-ground' experience," the statement from the Multi-National Force Iraq press command in Baghdad, sent to E&P this morning, reads, in part. "While they are in their own right valued and important, each perspective is going to be different based on an individual's assignment. Ultimately, it is context in such a historic and monumental effort which remains paramount in conveying the significance of their contributions, service and sacrifice." Military officials gave no indication in their statement that any disciplinary action would occur, and appeared to support the soldiers' right to express their views............

this is EXACTLY what i'm talking about

NOTE: PLEASE SEE MY POSTING FROM YESTERDAY (i think it's about 4 before this one) ON THE SAME SUBJECT

yesterday i read YET ANOTHER article (i can't find the link or i would have linked to it) about vick being railroaded. it said there were other football players out there who beat their wives and no one gives a shite.

WELL THAT'S NOT TRUE. i have no idea who beats their wives and who doesn't. i care about that, but i sure don't care about football. it has NOTHING to do with this story. i don't care if vick is allowed to play again or not. THAT IS NOT THE POINT. the color of his skin is NOT the point, the amount of money he has or doesn't have is NOT the point, who he hangs out with is NOT the point. and this dude, cortland milloy certainly is missing the point. he is saying if you sit down and eat a steak dinner (which i do NOT by the way but that is neither here nor there) you are JUST as guilty as michael vick. he is also bringing guns into the story???????????? i say let's just change vick's name to oj and get it over with. declare him innocent

Animal Cruelty Isn't Judged on a Level Playing Field
By Courtland Milloy
While eating a porterhouse the other night, I began to see the steak for what it was: a hunk of meat, blood and bone. I managed to disgust myself even more by imagining that a charbroiled piece of pit bull would not have looked much different from the gristle of beef on my fork.
Then I came back to my senses and continued to enjoy my meal.
Too bad for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick that people like me love dogs more than cows. Or, to put it another way, I prefer the taste of Angus and Hereford to Rottweiler and pit bull. Otherwise, the federal agents who recently charged Vick with dogfighting would have to arrest nearly all of us for participating in far worse acts of animal cruelty........
............Vick's case ought to be handled by a state's attorney, but it isn't. He is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. You'd think the guy had been caught smuggling a ton of heroin in the carcasses of dead poodles...........

yeah poor poor vick, he's being railroaded. we're unfairly persecuting him. hold on while i run to the loo and get a kleenex to wipe the tears from my eyes.......

silly me

i thought the president (or king in this case) of the united states worked for ME and the rest of the citizens of this land. i thought this was a free america where we had a constitution and freedoms and rights. including the freedoms and rights to speak out if we feel there are wrongs and injustices. i thought since the king worked for US, we had a right to express our feelings DIRECTLY TO HIM.

little did i know..........
out of sight out of HIS F**KING MIND
White House Manual Details How to Deal With Protesters


By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer
Not that they're worried or anything. But the White House evidently leaves little to chance when it comes to protests within eyesight of the president. As in, it doesn't want any.
A White House manual that came to light recently gives presidential advance staffers extensive instructions in the art of "deterring potential protestors" from President Bush's public appearances around the country.
Among other things, any event must be open only to those with tickets tightly controlled by organizers. Those entering must be screened in case they are hiding secret signs. Any anti-Bush demonstrators who manage to get in anyway should be shouted down by "rally squads" stationed in strategic locations. And if that does not work, they should be thrown out.
But that does not mean the White House is against dissent -- just so long as the president does not see it. ......

king george - too little too late

AND it's NOT like it's al-maliki's fault. YOU put him there. sure he's incompetent but then again so are you. no, you're more than that. you're DANGEROUS too. you're power hungry and money hungry and uncaring and unaware of the pain and suffering you are causing WORLD WIDE

if congress would only act.........

Bush Turns Up Heat on Maliki
Iraqis Could Seek New Government, President Cautions


By Michael A. Fletcher and Megan Greenwell Washington Post Staff Writers
MONTEBELLO, Canada, Aug. 21 -- President Bush pointedly declined Tuesday to offer a public endorsement of embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, expressing his disappointment at the lack of political progress in Iraq and saying that widespread popular frustration could lead Iraqis to replace their government.
"The fundamental question is: Will the government respond to the demands of the people?" Bush said. Stopping short of directly endorsing Maliki, as he has on several previous occasions, Bush continued, "If the government doesn't respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government."......................

i'm SICK of it

STOP IT. stop defending michael vick. he's agreed to plead guilty. as far as i am concerned he IS guilty. STOP blaming his friends, the crowd he hangs with. STOP telling me what a good guy he is. (i can't find it now, but i read an article earlier where a teammate or friend said what a wonderful guy vick was because he tossed a ball around with the friend's son). a GOOD GUY DOES NOT buy dogs, fight dogs, TORTURE dogs and KILL DOGS. they don't. period. end of it.
don't bring in 'representatives from civil rights organizations'. that's just downright shite. has nothing to do with anything. i would feel this rage if it was an 85 year old white woman from sweden. YOU CANNOT be 'good' and torture dogs. that's it

Vick plea revelation delivers a chill Some disappointed, others stand by QB

By Steve Wyche The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

......Vick's former teammate, free-agent running back Fred McCrary, called the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday evening because he said Vick is being unfairly portrayed."My heart is in my stomach," said McCrary, who said he last spoke to Vick two weeks ago. "Somebody needs to stand up for him. I ain't condoning what Mike did. He might have had something to do with it -- he's admitting to that.....
(unfairly portrayed. that's SHITE you hear me SHITE)

.......Earlier this month, in a march to the Georgia Dome to assert their support for Vick, civil-rights leaders from the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Southern Christian Leadership Center cautioned the public against rushing to judgment before Vick appeared in court.On Monday, representatives from both civil-rights organizations declined to comment, the Los Angeles Times reported. Gerald Rose, the founder of New Order, a new Atlanta-based human-rights group, told the Los Angeles Times he planned to go ahead with a "major rally" for Vick at the Georgia Dome on Monday but acknowledged it would take on a different tone.......
(RALLY? RALLY for a DOG TORTURER?)

Playing to Wrong Crowd
Longtime Loyalties Are Seen as Culprits In Vick's Undoing

By Mark Maske Washington Post Staff Writer
(and here's the 'sun was in his eyes, the devil made him do it view)
BROOKLYN, Md. -- James Boddie rose from a leather chair in the living room of his townhouse, minutes from downtown Baltimore, and walked upstairs to retrieve something. "I want to show you this," he said.
He'd been telling stories about his grandson, Michael Vick, stories about how a poor kid from a rough neighborhood in Newport News, Va., could use football to build a fancy house for his mother and a life of fame and riches for himself. He had been telling of taking a train to New York to be with his grandson and other family members when the Atlanta Falcons made Vick, a quarterback from Virginia Tech with a powerful left arm and magical legs, the top pick in the NFL draft in April 2001..........
............The most prominent theory, espoused by Boddie and Reeves, blames much of Vick's troubles on his continued association with childhood friends who have questionable pasts. Those same friends were the ones who agreed to testify against Vick in exchange for more lenient sentences for their roles in the crimes.........

once again i was mindin' my own bid-nez

perched on a chair in my pop's living room (he is NEVER home - he's always spending time with his babe) flicking through the cable channels. i landed on sundance once again. i saw in a matter of moments they were going to show a documentary called the lady in question is?charles busch. i had seen a couple of things he did (including the wonderful die mommie die). hmmmm i only watched about 20 minutes of the doc - i had to run but i DO plan on watching the rest as soon as i can.

while i was waiting in those moments BEFORE the lady in question, sundance ran a short by royston tan called Hock hiap leong .

oh my goddess, it was grand! certainly NOT what i expected AT ALL. it started with a beautiful young man seated at a table in a coffee shop. he was bent over from the waist and a voice over started. there were other diners at other tables and you could see a couple cooking and the coffee shop owner singing (oddly) by his cigarette stand. the voice over talked about how the young man enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the coffee shop. how it reminded him of his youth. how even those that were related to him (the couple cooking i believe were supposed to be some relation to the young man) knew him the least. then slowly the camera focused on bits of food and things the cooks were doing; chopping vegetables, heating noodles, wooden crates in a corner. it was slow but it was lovely, nice. an enjoyable watch

all of a sudden, at almost the four minute mark (the movie is all of six or seven minutes), the camera pans back to the young man, slightly bent over at his table. he sits straight up. music comes on. he starts lip syncing to some 60s hipster song about cha cha-ing (i think. who the HELL KNOWS what it was about). oh did i forget to mention, the voice over was in chinese with subtitles. the song was also in chinese NO subtitles. then, a bunch of bee-hived babes appear as do some of the men that were working in the restaurant along with others who were not. they're bopping with umbrellas and without umbrellas and DANCING (well, i don't know what else to call it) and jiving. oh my oh my oh my. i LOVED it.

should you ever get the chance DO watch it. i'm sorry i ruined the surprise though

sundance channel

ah you see you don't understand

he ONLY slept with underage grrrls, NOT boys. so that makes it A-OK you silly gooses!!! HE IS NOT A HOMOSEXUAL so all is well in the world AND we can 'forgive him' and give him access to OUR children!

Sex offender back in pulpit
ROMEOVILLE Despite prison term, preacher welcomed by Baptist congregation

BY SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH Religion Reporter shogan@suntimes.com
A southwest suburban Southern Baptist congregation allowed a convicted child sex offender to preach for the last few years -- despite his past, and a warning from his previous church that he might still be dangerous, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
In 1996, Jeff Hannah was sentenced to nine years in prison for having sexual relations with four underage girls -- ages 15 to 17 -- while a married youth minister at Crossroads Church in Libertyville.
Hannah was paroled in 2001 and joined the First Baptist Church of Romeoville, where his new wife was a member. Soon after, the pastor moved on, and church members -- aware of Hannah's crimes -- asked him to step into the pulpit until a replacement was hired, according to church members, Hannah and others. ......

oh and he had 'urges' that's why he did what he did. his first marriage was TROUBLED. see, it's ALL A-OK as i said

who knew?

rob riggle was a major in the marine reserve WITH combat experience? can't wait to see these clips. perhaps they'll start today

Daily Show" comics venture to Iraq

By Paul J. Gough
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Fake-news program "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" is taking a page from serious news organizations this week with on-the-scene reports from the war zone in Iraq.
Correspondent Rob Riggle, who has combat experience as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, spent five days in Iraq last week with "Daily Show" writer Kevin Bleyer and field producer Glenn Clements. They went with a USO sketch comedy tour known as "Operation Feel the Heat" -- armed with small, handheld cameras -- and also brought back video that will be used for "Daily Show" about the troops and their lives in Iraq.
Although "Daily Show" spends time on topics related to Iraq and often has one of its correspondents appear against a greenscreen that simulates the Middle Eastern country, it's the first time the show has gone the extra step and visited Iraq.......

and now

for something COMPLETELY different

British dwarf's penis gets stuck to hoover

(what can i say?)

bob schieffer

seems to be telling it LIKE IT IS
anyone else going to stand up and tell the truth? can't wait to hear (what they'll release that is) that report! is everything going to be rosy?
Veteran CBS newsman 'suspicious' of ghostwritten Petraeus report
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer offered a commentary Sunday on the upcoming report from General Petraeus on conditions in Iraq, observing, "When I ask a question and guests start laying out conditions ... I know that we're headed down the old rabbit trail."
"Excuse me for getting a little suspicious," Schieffer said, pointing out that "the White House want[s] the general to deliver the report to Congress behind closed doors while Cabinet officers do the talking in public. And suddenly we're told the general won't actually write the report, but that his thoughts will be included in a summary prepared by the White House."............

wiretap documents

you don't need to see no stinkin' wiretap documents!!!

and rest assured we NEVER will either

Cheney's Office Says It Has Wiretap Documents


By Dan EggenWashington Post Staff Writer
Vice President Cheney's office acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it has dozens of documents related to the administration's warrantless surveillance program, but it signaled that it will resist efforts by congressional Democrats to obtain them.
The disclosure by Cheney's counsel, Shannen W. Coffin, came on the day that the Senate Judiciary Committee had set as a deadline for the Bush administration to turn over documents related to the wiretapping program, which allowed the National Security Agency to monitor communications between the United States and overseas without warrants.........

all right senator leahy. no more talk. ACTION. start those proceedings and start them NOW

White House, Senate headed for subpoena showdown
Nick Juliano
The Bush Administration and a Senate committee have entered an apparent standoff as the White House failed to meet a 2:30 p.m. deadline from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which seeks compliance with subpoenas related to President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. The committee's chairman threatened criminal charges if the administration continues to withhold requested documents.
"We should not have to legislate in the dark when the administration hides behind a fictitious veil of secrecy," Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said at a Capitol Hill press conference Monday afternoon.
The Vermont Senator said he'll begin contempt proceedings in the Judiciary Committee if the Bush administration does not comply with the subpoenas by the end of the current congressional recess. A majority of Judiciary Committee members would have to endorse the decision to begin criminal proceedings before the full Senate could consider pursuing prosecution...........

our children are in danger

some are dying from a TOOTH INFECTION. some haven't enough to eat. some aren't getting proper educations. MANY are not getting health care at all. that's including pregnant women. YET HOW MANY BILLIONS IS KING GEORGE THROWING AT IRAQ? why aren't we saving our babies?

New Bush Policies Limit Reach of Child Insurance Plan

By Christopher LeeWashington Post Staff Writer

The Bush administration, engaged in a battle with Congress over whether a popular children's health insurance program should be expanded, has announced new policies that will make it harder for states to insure all but the lowest-income children.
New administrative hurdles, which state health officials were told about late last week, are aimed at preventing parents with private insurance for their children from availing of the government-subsidized State Children's Health Insurance Program. But Democrats and children's advocates said that the announcement will jeopardize coverage for children whose parents work at jobs that do not provide employer-paid insurance...........

this just RIPS me

instead of worrying about the government in IRAQ why the f**k aren't you worrying about YOUR OWN (and my own too) government????? THAT has to change. our congress MUST start impeachment proceedings immediately. why not preach that? why? why not talk to your congress about that senator levin? i am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO steamed

Senator Calls for Maliki's Ouster
Levin Urges Iraqis To Replace Leaders


By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer

Declaring the government of Iraq "non-functional," the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday that Iraq's parliament should oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his cabinet if they are unable to forge a political compromise with rival factions in a matter of days.
"I hope the parliament will vote the Maliki government out of office and will have the wisdom to replace it with a less sectarian and more unifying prime minister and government," Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said after a three-day trip to Iraq and Jordan.........

les fleur du mal

i think these are morning glories but i don't know for sure. they did close up by about 11:00 am. taken sunday morning august 19th 2007

(note: looks like they ARE morning glories and their name is 'milky way')

saw the tale end of

this on one of those cable movie stations (had to be ifc or bravo or something of that sort - ah as it turns out it was SUNDANCE). from what i saw it was grand! i'll have to rent it and watch the whole thing

according to the website it will play again on august 27th at 1:45 pm (i don't know if that's MY time or what. i'll have to check that out)

good piece by juan cole in salon

on one of the evil ones who is shortly departing (no, not this life, but king george's court)

The poisonous rhetorical legacy of Karl Rove
Even Fox's Chris Wallace wants to know why Bush's newly departed advisor had to paint Democrats as traitors.

aclu

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

i think no one is surprised to learn soldier's personal blogs are NOT giving away state secrets (unlike novak and rove and on and on and on). it's the STATE itself

Army Reports Brass, Not Bloggers, Breach Security

By Noah Shachtman
For years, the military has been warning that soldiers' blogs could pose a security threat by leaking sensitive wartime information. But a series of online audits, conducted by the Army, suggests that official Defense Department websites post material far more potentially harmful than anything found on a individual's blog.
The audits, performed by the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell between January 2006 and January 2007, found at least 1,813 violations of operational security policy on 878 official military websites. In contrast, the 10-man, Manassas, Virginia, unit discovered 28 breaches, at most, on 594 individual blogs during the same period.
The results were obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, after the digital rights group filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act.
"It's clear that official Army websites are the real security problem, not blogs," said EFF staff attorney Marcia Hofmann. "Bloggers, on the whole, have been very careful and conscientious. It's a pretty major disparity."
The findings stand in stark contrast to Army statements about the risks that blogs pose. ............

be careful if you're going through asheville

north carolina....

don't be carrying any signs on any sidewalks

Man Arrested For Holding "Impeach" Sign

Jonas Phillips, a native of Asheville, North Carolina, sometimes stands at an Interstate overpass near his workplace and holds a sign that reads Impeach Bush-Cheney. Wednesday morning, he'd been standing there about ten minutes when he was approached by one Russell Crisp of the Asheville Police Department. Crisp asked Phillips how long he intended to stay in his spot, and Philips said not long--he had to be at work shortly. The officer then asked Phillips for his ID. Phillips asked if he had done anything wrong, and Crisp said only that a sergeant was on the way.........

no no no john, this is just WRONG

i'm not really sure IT'S a 'she'

John Edwards Calls Ann Coulter "She-Devil"

an oped from the nyt yesterday

update: september 12, 2007: sgt omar mora and sgt yance gray have been killed


(i didn't read the papers yesterday. as a matter of fact, i didn't do much of anything yesterday)

one of these brave men with honest voices was shot in the head. he is expected to survive. what will happen to them for writing the truth? will the america people FINALLY hear it?

Seven Active U.S. Soldiers Write Iraq Op-Ed for 'NYT'

By Greg Mitchell

NEW YORK An op-ed raising troubling questions about the U.S. effort in Iraq -- and off-kilter press coverage -- is nothing new. But this one, in The New York Times today, was different, and will possibly be more influential than nearly all that came before. For one thing, consider the authors' blurbs at the end of the article: "Buddhika Jayamaha is an Army specialist. Wesley D. Smith is a sergeant. Jeremy Roebuck is a sergeant. Omar Mora is a sergeant. Edward Sandmeier is a sergeant. Yance T. Gray is a staff sergeant. Jeremy A. Murphy is a staff sergeant."Then there was the parenthetical note about halfway into it: "In short, we operate in a bewildering context of determined enemies and questionable allies, one where the balance of forces on the ground remains entirely unclear. (In the course of writing this article, this fact became all too clear: one of us, Staff Sergeant Murphy, an Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head during a “time-sensitive target acquisition mission” on Aug. 12; he is expected to survive and is being flown to a military hospital in the United States.)"The soldiers, with the 82nd Airborne Division, conclude: "In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are — an army of occupation — and force our withdrawal." .......

and the oped piece itself:

The War as We Saw It
By BUDDHIKA JAYAMAHA, WESLEY D. SMITH, JEREMY ROEBUCK, OMAR MORA, EDWARD SANDMEIER, YANCE T. GRAY and JEREMY A. MURPHY

VIEWED from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day. (Obviously, these are our personal views and should not be seen as official within our chain of command.)
The claim that we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere. ...............

wow

seems like the wapo is publishing a startling 'honest'* view of our king and the lack of respect for him around the globe

some of the great lines are right in the beginning of this article. how king george wanted to FIGHT TYRANNY. that's rich. we are becoming a police state right here yet he wants to fight tyranny and bring democracy to the world. hey king george, how about starting RIGHT HERE AT HOME

As Democracy Push Falters, Bush Feels Like a 'Dissident'


By Peter BakerWashington Post Staff Writer

By the time he arrived in Prague in June for a democracy conference, President Bush was frustrated. He had committed his presidency to working toward the goal of "ending tyranny in our world," yet the march of freedom seemed stalled. Just as aggravating was the sense that his own government was not committed to his vision.
As he sat down with opposition leaders from authoritarian societies around the world, he gave voice to his exasperation. "You're not the only dissident," Bush told Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a leader in the resistance to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "I too am a dissident in Washington. Bureaucracy in the United States does not help change. It seems that Mubarak succeeded in brainwashing them."...............

,..................Two and a half years after Bush pledged in his second inaugural address to spread democracy around the world, the grand project has bogged down in a bureaucratic and geopolitical morass, in the view of many activists, officials and even White House aides. Many in his administration never bought into the idea, and some undermined it, including his own vice president.............

*but according to laura at war and piece the wapo article may have missing a teeny tiny thing or two

The WP's Peter Baker missed a few important insights in its piece on why Bush's democracy vision has stalled. The two biggest: Bush's vision of overturning tyranny and bringing democracy to Iraq -- the largest U.S. project of the past quarter century -- has been dashed in massive sectarian bloodshed, loss of life, turmoil, insurgency, uncertainty and heartbreak and a massive devotion of US resources that might have gone to promoting grand things lots of places, and secondly, that in many targeted countries, promoting democracy would mean allowing Islamist groups, some designated as terrorist groups by the Bush administration, to prevail. The piece left out so many big examples of the contradictions -- Musharraf/Pakistan, Saudi Arabia whose corrupt royal family is so close to the White House and Cheney's office, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt -- of where Bush has decided he isn't quite sure he really wants democratic realities to be realized, and he just may prefer the tyrant, as Cheney openly does in Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.......