dopey and his 'lil vator

(shout out to boing boing)

who determines

if a picture has an 'aesthetic value" or not? am i a terrorist if i want to take a picture of certain things BECAUSE I SEE BEAUTY in the picture. while someone with a mind blackened with evil sees evil. if you ask my neighbors to spy on me someone will see something they don't like (and vice versa). what the hell (and i do mean hell) are you turning us into?

Bush's Secret Army of Snoops and Snitches
By Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive.

The full scale of Bush's assault on our civil liberties may not be known until years after he's left office.

At the moment, all we can do is get glimpses here or there of what's going on.

And the latest one to come to my attention is the dispatching of police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and utility workers as so-called "terrorism liaison officers," according to a report by Bruce Finley in the Denver Post.

They are entrusted with hunting for "suspicious activity," and then they report their findings, which end up in secret government databases.

What constitutes "suspicious activity," of course, is in the eye of the beholder. But a draft Justice Department memo on the subject says that such things as "taking photos of no apparent aesthetic value" or "making notes" could constitute suspicious activity, Finley wrote.

The states where this is going on include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.

Dozens more are planning to do so, Finley reports.

Colorado alone has 181 Terrorism Liaison Officers, and some of them are from the private sector, such as Xcel Energy............

racist pieces of

steamin' shite. may they someday know what they did. that's all i ask. may they someday see the light
New Jersey GOP Club Removes "Obama Loves America like O.J. loved Nicole" Banner From Website

Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress
After local Democrats “alleged racist campaign tactics,” the Republican Club in Pemberton, NJ removed a banner yesterday from its website that compared Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to O.J. Simpson. “Obama loves America like O.J. loved Nicole,” the banner read. Though the image has now been removed, Blue Jersey saved a screen shot of the offensive banner:

i have never liked

jesse jackson. i've always perceived him to be out for ONLY jesse jackson. a media whore if you will. a blowhard if you will. always there for a photo op. always shooting off his big fat mouth. whenever i see him, i look away (and close my ears).

and hey jesse, cutting someone's nuts off ISN'T VERY REVEREND-LY

Jackson apologizes for comment about castrating Senator Obama
David Edwards
"See, Barack been...um...talking down to black people on this faith-based...I wanna cut his nuts off."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the activist and onetime Democratic presidential candidate, got caught saying something untoward about Barack Obama's emphasis on personal responsibility during speeches in black churches. Now the Rainbow/Push coaltion founder is apologizing to the Democratic presidential candidate, according to CNN.....

irams urams herams sherams

it doesn't matter. our troops are getting killed over there and for what? NOT our freedom. NOT our security (the iraqis couldn't have cared less about us UNTIL we invaded their country). we'll just have to think about who profits from the war. me? nope. gas is 4.40ish a gallon in connecticut. i didn't get a cost of living raise. did you? home heating oil is through the roof. people can't pay their mortgages. so not YOU either. who then? well a bunch of good ol' white boyz somewhere. their pockets are lined with gold AND BLOOD

U.S. Troops in Iraq Face A Powerful New Weapon

Use of Rocket-Propelled Bombs Spreads

By Ernesto Londoño

Washington Post Foreign Service

BAGHDAD, July 9 -- Suspected Shiite militiamen have begun using powerful rocket-propelled bombs to attack U.S. military outposts in recent months, broadening the array of weapons used against American troops.

U.S. military officials call the devices Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions, or IRAMs. They are propane tanks packed with hundreds of pounds of explosives and powered by 107mm rockets. They are often fired by remote control from the backs of trucks, sometimes in close succession. Rocket-propelled bombs have killed at least 21 people, including at least three U.S. soldiers, this year.........

i wouldn't hesitate to put this in my yard

now THIS is my idea of a lawn or garden sculpture!

cnn what up wit you on this one?

bunch of giant stupid-heads

CNN Spreading Innacurate Info on Cervical Cancer Vaccine
Posted by , Feministe

By Habladora

I can’t decide if this is an example of careless reporting, or of intentional fear-mongering. While there is no solid evidence that Gardasil is dangerous, CNN’s article “Should parents worry about HPV vaccine?” seems to be written with the aim of confusing the public into believing otherwise:

Gardasil has been the subject of 7,802 “adverse event” reports from the time the Food and Drug Administration approved its use two years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Girls and women have blamed the vaccine for causing ailments from nausea to paralysis — even death. Fifteen deaths were reported to the FDA, and 10 were confirmed, but the CDC says none of the 10 were linked to the vaccine. The CDC says it continues to study the reports of illness.

While the idea that the HPV vaccinations might be unsafe is scary, at this point in CNN’s article I’m most appalled by a major news organization’s apparent lack of interest in conveying any real information to readers about an issue that concerns the safety of women and girls, and that could impact people’s decisions on whether or not to get vaccinated..........

we haven't visited our good friends over at kbr

in a while. let's stop by via politico and see how they be doin'!

Defense contractors buy lobbying muscle

By SAMUEL LOEWENBERG
For KBR, Danny Langford was a PR nightmare.

At a recent Senate hearing, Langford, in his Texas drawl, told of the broken bags of chemicals and the shiny particles strewn throughout the water treatment plant where he worked in Iraq for KBR, an American contractor. Along with another former employee, Langford alleged that the highly carcinogenic substances sickened them and perhaps hundreds of other workers and U.S. soldiers.

KBR has denied any wrongdoing. But with Democrats in charge on Capitol Hill, congressionally sponsored hearings about misconduct have become commonplace. So the company is fighting back by joining with other contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan to launch a new public relations and lobbying initiative to make its case.

“This is, in essence, a response to the steady drip of negative front-page media reports about contractors and growing public concerns about the effectiveness of the federal contracting process,” said David Marin, who runs the new lobbying and public relations campaign aimed at improving the images of government contractors.

Formerly known as Kellogg, Brown and Root, the global engineering giant was until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton, the controversial oil services company once headed by Vice President Cheney. And KBR, which won more than $16 billion in U.S. government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, continues to draw fire.......

this is a damn good catch!

king george (well his speechwriters) has the nerve to edit thomas jefferson! that takes STONES
Bush Edits Out Jefferson's Religious Views

Hat tip to Sandefur for catching this. President Bush was at Monticello for a 4th of July celebration and he delivered an address. But it's quite telling that his speechwriters, in quoting Jefferson, cut out an anti-religious statement from a long and famous quote. Here's the way Bush put it:

Thomas Jefferson understood that these rights do not belong to Americans alone. They belong to all mankind. And he looked to the day when all people could secure them. On the 50th anniversary of America's independence, Thomas Jefferson passed away. But before leaving this world, he explained that the principles of the Declaration of Independence were universal. In one of the final letters of his life, he wrote, "May it be to the world, what I believe it will be -- to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all -- the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."

Now let's look at the full quote, including the part that was cut out. This is from a letter he wrote to Roger Weightman reflecting on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (which, it turns out, was the day both he and John Adams died):

May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government..........

so we're supposed to feel sorry

for this fucking "MOURNFUL" (alleged) murderer? why did he (allegedly) kill his daughter you ask? oh well he had a DAMN good reason. she most likely didn't want to spread her legs for a STRANGER

may he rot in the bowels of whatever hell HE believes in

Dad charged with murder in bride's 'honor killing'

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A Pakistani man is charged with killing his 25-year-old daughter in Georgia because she wanted out of an arranged marriage, police said.

Somber and tearful, Chaudhry Rashid, 54, of Jonesboro, an Atlanta suburb, made his first court appearance Tuesday in connection with the death of Sandeela Kanwal.

He was advised through an iUrdu nterpreter of the murder charge, and of his legal rights. Court records indicate that a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 24.

He was arrested early Sunday, after his wife called police at about 2 a.m. She reported that she had been awakened by screaming but couldn't understand the language, a Clayton County police report said. She said she was afraid and left the house to call police.

Officers found Kanwal dead in an upstairs bedroom of the home, according to the police report......

the ONLY thing i disagree with larisa on

is that we should be surprised pelosi is bending over so rove (well the whole republican party) can sodomize her

i'm NOT surprised in the least. i don't like her, i don't trust her and most of her actions have appalled me

Much info coming out about the Siegelman case...

As I reported in last month, the Office of Professional Responsibility at the Department of Justice is indeed investigating two US Attorneys - still remarkable allowed near the law - in what has come to be known as the US Attorney Scandal. The two attorneys in question are the US Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, Leura Canary (and her office) and the US Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Dunnica Lampton (and his office).

Today we have additional confirmation that Canary (and her office) is in the hot seat, by way of the Tuscaloosa News.

We have also learned today that Karl Rove has himself a remarkable new ally. First, let's recap who Rove is in this saga and why he has been subpeonaed to testify in front of Congress on July 10.

Karl Rove cut his teeth as one of the "rat-fuckers" of the Segretti crew, who ran dirty tricks for Nixon. That should tell you everything you need to know about what kind of sociopath this man is. If you want to really know more about this man, the best source is the book by my friend Jim Moore, called Bush's Brain............

.................

This brings us to the current, and very disturbing news. As I stated earlier, Rove apparently has a new ally in Congress and one that should surprise all of you. From Alabama activist, Pam Miles:

"I have firm confirmation that Nancy Pelosi is urging the Judiciary committee NOT to go forward with contempt against Rove.

Congressman John Conyers and the Judiciary staff are battling for it but this has become an infight among dems."

Yes, the Speaker of the House, the first women Speaker in US history, and a Democrat is basically saying Karl Rove is above the law..........

this is an ACTUAL cnn headline

i just now read it

U.S. exports cigarettes, bras, bull semen to Iran

THEN, you start reading it and the first sentence SAYS IT ALL

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. exports to Iran grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused it of nuclear ambitions and sponsoring terrorists..........

tuesday humor

you know, the kind where you insist the comedian put down the crack pipe and back away slowly


Bill Kristol says "Republicans are much more open to strong women"

I say that's hilarious considering who this is coming from. I'm a week late on this, but it's a necessary mention. Via Think Progress:

Kristol: I think Hillary Clinton was gracious, she's put behind her the horrible sexism and misogyny the Democratic primary voters demonstrated. I'm appalled by it, personally. Never would have happened in the Republican Party, you know...we're -- Republicans are much more open to strong women. (yeah, so they can pull the pl0w longer) That's why McCain is going to put Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, on the ticket.,.............

(of course the italicized blurb up there is mine)

this is a good thing to know

my peeps! (list at the link)

Listening Post's Top 10 Hottest Music Sites

By Eliot Van Buskirk

Change is the only constant in the music business, and that goes double for the digital music business. Nonetheless, we've assembled a list of the 10 hottest digital music websites in the world.

Criteria were simple and admittedly subjective: Sites were chosen based not only on what they currently do for music fans, but also on their potential to impact the future development of the music industry. Based on how things go with the first iteration, this list could be updated periodically and opened for voting.........

more on our favorite comedy channel

NO not comedy central you silly!
NYT Op/Ed: The consequences of contacting, writing about Fox News

Fox News, says New York Times columnist David Carr, is run more like a political campaign than a media outlet.

"Once the public relations apparatus at Fox News is engaged," Carr wrote of requesting interviews, "there will be the calls to my editors, keening (and sometimes threatening) e-mail messages, and my requests for interviews will quickly turn into depositions about my intent or who else I am talking to."

Fox News, under chief Roger Ailes, is so diffficult to deal with that Carr admits having a physical reaction should the channel's name come up in his work. Actions taken against reporters include blacklisting, smears on blogs and, as brought to light recently, doctored photographs in retaliation for a perceived hitjob following a New York Times piece by reporter Jacques Steinberg, comparing its ratings to those of cable news competitor CNN...........

hey, just 'cause it's YOUR country

OBVIOUSLY doesn't mean YOU can tell US what to do!
Pentagon rebuffs Iraqis on withdrawal timetable

In a rebuff to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Pentagon said Monday that any timetable for a US withdrawal from Iraq would depend on conditions on the ground there.

Maliki told Arab ambassadors on Monday he was pressing for such a timetable in negotiations with Washington on an agreement on the status of US forces in Iraq beyond 2008.

Asked about the prime minister's comments, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters: "With respect to timetables I would say the same thing I would say as respects to the security situation -- it is dependent on conditions on the ground.".......

when i saw this i was mortified

i was astounded, mortified, made sick by

The Jesse Helms You Should Remember

By Marc Thiessen

the above site. where did i see it? the kkk gazette? nope. wapo. i couldn't look away though. i HAD to read the piece.

it was ridiculous, absurd, obscene. it was sugar coated steamin' scheist drek put in a box with a nice bow.

i was beside myself UNTIL i read the comments!!!

now i haven't read them since this morning but each and every one of them (at that time) thought less of the piece than i did (and i didn't think that was possible).


there is hope. there is good.

one of THE funniest men alive

and his sister ain't bad either

The MoJo Interview: David Sedaris
Interview by Tony DuShane
...............

Mother Jones: So, do you exaggerate?

David Sedaris: Boy, do I. And if it weren't for The New Yorker fact-checkers, I'd do it more. I've always been up front about that. I think that was what was weird to me about it, was this idea that I had somehow been caught. I had written [in The New Yorker] that my spiders got so obese that their legs started chafing. I talked to the spider expert at the natural history museum, and he said that spiders' legs never rub together. I said, "No, I know they wouldn't. I'm just saying it as a joke." I don't know how easy [The New Republic] thinks it is to make shit up. To say that a humorist exaggerates to get big laughs, I don't see how that's big news................

Photo: Robert Banks

this is the sort of defense contractor

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Grief_leads_father_to_create_bombdefusing_0706.htmli would trust AND we need. not only does he understand our troops need protection, HE ACTUALLY CARES about our troops having protection.

and to the family and friends of army private first class john hart, i am so very sorry for your loss
Grief leads father to create bomb-defusing robot

By MARK JEWELL Associated Press Writer

TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The knock on Brian Hart's door came at 6 a.m. An Army colonel, a priest and a police officer had come to tell Hart and his wife that their 20-year-old son had been killed when his military vehicle was ambushed in Iraq.

Brian Hart didn't channel his grief quietly. Committed to "preventing the senseless from recurring," he railed against the military on his blog for shortcomings in supplying armor to soldiers. The one-time Republican teamed with liberal Sen. Edward Kennedy to tell Congress that the Pentagon was leaving soldiers ill-equipped..

a story with a happy ending (for a change)

i do have to say every pit i personally have ever met, has been nice to people. i've seen several who have cats as house mates too. they all get along just fine.

i know if one trains a dog to fight or kill, it will do so, or if it cannot, it will usually be killed by those doing the training. these are NOT human beings to me. they're scum.

this is unprecedented. i know for a fact when fighting pits are 'rescued' 9 out of 10 times they are euthanized because they are deemed to dangerous to rehabilitate. well NOT in this case and it appears to have worked. heck one of these dogs wears a clown collar and is a therapy dog in a cancer ward!

man, i LOVE dogs and i sure am glad most of these dogs got a second chance. we all know other dogs won't.

oh and a shout out to U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. he didn't have to do what he did. but he did it and saved a LOT of dogs.

Saving Michael Vick's Dogs

Pit Bulls Rescued From the Football Player's Fighting Ring Show Progress in an Unprecedented Rehabilitation Effort

By Brigid Schulte

Washington Post Staff Writer
When football superstar Michael Vick pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to run a dogfighting operation, we knew he had kept about 50 pit bulls on his 15-acre property in rural Surry County, Va., on a road named Moonlight. We knew the dogs were chained to car axles near wooden hovels for shelter. And we knew the dogs that didn't fight were beaten, shot, hanged, electrocuted or drowned. But we didn't know their names. Headlines described the nameless dogs as "menacing." Some animal rights groups called for the "ticking time bombs" to be euthanized as soon as Vick's case was closed and they were no longer valuable as evidence. That's what typically happens after a dogfighting bust. nstead, the court gave Vick's dogs a second chance. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ordered each dog to be evaluated individually, not judged by the stereotype of the breed. And he ordered Vick to pony up close to $1 million to pay for the lifelong care of those that could be saved.........

he realy f**king is trying

to do THE most damage he can before he leaves office (although some feel he will declare marshal law and NEVER leave)

Bush wipes out decades of US Forestry policy

Chris in Paris ·

Who needs the environment when condos can be slapped up and friends can make a handsome profit?

The deal was struck behind closed doors between Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, and Plum Creek Timber Co., a former logging company turned real estate investment trust that is building homes. Plum Creek owns more than 8 million acres nationwide, including 1.2 million acres in the mountains of western Montana, where local officials were stunned and outraged at the deal.

"We have 40 years of Forest Service history that has been reversed in the last three months," said Pat O'Herren, an official in Missoula County, which is threatening to sue the Forest Service for forgoing environmental assessments and other procedures that would have given the public a voice in the matter..............

because you think the saudis

(who think 'christians' are infidels AND WORSE) are going to listen to you rocky - you win the ravings of a semi-sane madwoman gatsu piedi award of the week (the FIRST)

yup, get on your knees in front of the embassy or in front of the pump. that's REALLY gonna help

oh and p.s. rocky, i don't know what YOU heard but there is PLENTY of oil already released. that AIN'T the problem

Group Asks for Divine Intervention to Ease Oil Prices
By Allison Aldrich and Keriann Hopkins
CNSNews.com Correspondents
(CNSNews.com) - As the price of oil continues to rise, some are turning to God and prayer for an answer to their financial troubles.

The Pray at the Pump Movement, founded by Rocky Twyman, has been holding prayer vigils at gas stations across the country. On Monday, Twyman decided to take his movement from Exxon and Shell stations straight to the steps of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C., hoping to encourage the oil-rich country to raise the amount of barrels they release each day from 200,000 to 1.2 million.

Twyman, who is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, spent the afternoon outside of the embassy praying and asking passersby to sign his petition for the release of more oil, which he hopes to deliver to the Saudi oil minister. ...............

once again, just because it was secret

doesn't mean it didn't happen.

i'm sure there is so much of this stuff out there (how our lawmakers and government knew about murders and executions and tortures and rapes and more) it would turn your blood cold

we're human beings. there can never be peace if we continue to allow this to happen (and we do)
AP: U.S. Okayed Korean War Massacres
Associated Press

SEOUL The American colonel, troubled by what he was hearing, tried to stall at first. But the declassified record shows he finally told his South Korean counterpart it "would be permitted" to machine-gun 3,500 political prisoners, to keep them from joining approaching enemy forces.

In the early days of the Korean War, other American officers observed, photographed and confidentially reported on such wholesale executions by their South Korean ally, a secretive slaughter believed to have killed 100,000 or more leftists and supposed sympathizers, usually without charge or trial, in a few weeks in mid-1950..............

lord have mercy is right

this is over the line AND ridiculous it also goes to show it doesn't matter what color one is, if one is a republican, one tends to be a GIANT DOPE (note, i didn't say they were ALL dopes, just said they tended to be one)

Billboards Claim Rev. King Was Republican
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE - A black Republican group has put up billboards in Florida and South Carolina saying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican, a claim that black leaders say is ridiculous.

The National Black Republican Association has paid for billboards showing an image of the civil rights leader and the words "Martin Luther King Jr. was REPUBLICAN." Told about the billboards, the Rev. Joseph Lowery let out a soft chuckle that grew stronger as he began to think more about the idea.

"These guys never give up, do they?" said Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King. "Lord have mercy."..................