Why Won't J.B. Van Hollen Accept Responsibility?

Simple answer: Because he's a ReThug. The Cap Times has the story.

Someone had better inform Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen that his job entails more than making plans to attend the Republican National Convention this summer.

The attorney general, whose office has been bogged down for weeks with an apparently serious discussion of whether Van Hollen needs to be protected by Wisconsin law enforcement officers when he attends the party shindig in St. Paul, has gotten so lost in the details of his social schedule that he is failing to manage his office.

My emphasis.

Flip Flopping Away

C&L.

* McCain was against the repeal of Roe v. Wade before he was for it.
* McCain was against torture before he was for it. Really for it.
* McCain was against crazy right-wing preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson before he was for them.
* McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy before he was for them.
* McCain was against shady Bush “Pioneer” Texas billionaire swift-boat financiers before he was for them.
* McCain was for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law before he was against it and began breaking it.
* McCain was against Grover Norquist, whom he called “corrupt, a shill for dictators“ before he was for him.
* McCain was against BJU because of its “hateful,” “racist and cruel” policies before he was for it.
* McCain was against ethanol before he was for ethanol and then he was against it again.
* McCain was against a Martin Luther King holiday before he was for it. …

Click on the C&L link to be able to get to the sources of the flip flopping by McCain. Just click on the underlined links in the original post.

Put On This Turban

Via Maru, The Crank Pot. Thanks so much. I must have been really, really drunk, to have understood every word of this song back when I could understand anything. Drunk, yes, drunk, that's my story & I'm sticking to it. Hey, look, I've got grand daughters now, not to mention a daughter for cripe's sake. Give an old DFH a break will you. Anyway, I hope you laughed as much as I did.

The McCains Is Just Plain Folk Tryin' To Scrape Some Money Together To Pay Their Taxes On Their Beach Front Hovel

The newest version of Mr. Integritude, Sen. John McDon't Pay My Taxes, appears to have a bit of a problem. One of many, I might add. Via the great Watertiger.

Newsweek is set to publish a highly embarrassing report on Sen. John McCain, revealing that the McCains have failed to pay taxes on their beach-front condo in La Jolla, California, for the last four years and are currently in default, The Huffington Post has learned.
....
UPDATE: Newsweek's story is now online[*]. The report notes that the McCains paid the bulk of their back taxes yesterday, but continue to owe additional taxes.

*Go here for the online story mentioned above. Also noted is that the McCains own seven homes, which proves that they are not elitists. You see, you need to own more than seven houses to be elitists, the McCains are just poor folk with seven homes. They're so poor that they can't pay their taxes. Won't be long & they'll be on the streets eating out of dumpsters.

Yep, NTodd Is Correct

Here's the whole post.

AP:

President Bush said Saturday the U.S. was working on ways to further punish Zimbabwe's longtime leader and his allies, saying Robert Mugabe leads an "illegitimate government" that retained power only through a fraudulent election.

President Pot, meet President Kettle...

ntodd

Sovereignty?

Not on Bu$hCo's watch.

Outraged Iraqi officials demanded an investigation into an early morning U.S. military raid Friday near the birthplace of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, saying the operation violated the terms of the handover of Karbala province to Iraqi security forces.

No Blood For Oil

Yep, Digby is correct, again. Only those of us who don't seriously take showers or baths or saunas, aka DFH, would be so crass to suggest Bu$hCo & Dick "Dick" Cheney would send young Americans to die for oil. How, unserious is that? It's like eating a scone with one's fingers. Here's Digby quoting Bill Moyers from last night. I can't watch Moyers on my local PBS station since the big maple tree in the yard has leafed out & blocks the satelite dish from picking up the local Duluth channels. That's why I just love the Internets.

Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire, and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be....the bottom line. It is about oil.

Now, loyal four readers, go read the rest of Digby & Moyers. It will make your Saturday a great day, sort of. My emphasis, as if it's really needed. Feeling safer yet?

Disturbing Trend

That may be the biggest understatement of this eight year old century. Of course, there is nothing to worry about. The polar bears will just need to evolve quickly, like the finches of Daphne Major. Oh, wait, my bad, we don't believe in evolution. Tough shit, polar bears, you're dead.

...scientists at the center see a 50 percent chance that ice at the highest point in the Arctic will melt by the summer's end.

Friday Cat Plus Some Other Stuff Blogging

Rocky the Lab & Tab the Cat

Rocky the Lab & Tipitina the Cat

The Twins With Dada On His Second Father's Day

My Overly Complicated Deck Railing Project

Sounds Right To Me

Via James Briggs Stratton "Doghouse" Riley.

Project: Mosaic-topped potting bench

Materials: 2x4 treated lumber, 3/4" plywood, 1x4 construction-grade lumber, carriage bolts, deck screws, exterior nails, construction adhesive, exterior paint, urethane, assorted sandpaper, ceramic tile, exterior grout, sealer, moulding

Tools: circular saw, power drill, sander, hammer, paint brushes, grout float, margin trowel, sponge, terry-cloth towels, magnifying glass, mosquito repellant, tweezers, assorted bandages, bacitracin, tetanus vaccine

Estimated time: 6 years

Estimated cost: $7000, labor included

Go read the instructions, they will be worth your time & effort. My emphasis.

Democrats Who Changed Their Votes On The FISA Bill Suck

But their individual campaign bank accounts are richer because of their craven change of mind.

The 94 Democrats who changed their positions received on average $8,359 in contributions from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint from January, 2005, to March, 2008,....

The Surge, Boss, The Surge

All of us DFHs are supposed to be mea culpaing all over the place because the surge worked, well, not so much.

A suicide bomber attacked a meeting of pro-government Sunni sheiks west of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 23 people, including three U.S. Marines. At least 18 more people died in a car bombing in the northern city of Mosul.

My emphasis.

Senselessbrenner

What an a-hole.

His solution to hungry people needing food, hungry people who were not impacted by recent floods, but part of a growing hunger crisis, is to create a bureaucracy to deny them food.

I Could Be Converted

With the appropriate incentives, preferably a boat, an 18 foot Lund Alaskan with a 75 horse motor & a center console, plus an easy loading trailer.

I really like this idea, as well.

Maybe we can become Chris Dodd bitter-enders.

Here's the link in the above quote.

This Is The Result Of Reagan, Bu$hCo I, Bu$hCo II

It's also a colossal failure of our institutions of education & the pie-in-the-sky religions that the ReThugs so love. This is a shame, a true stain on our country. That Bu$hCo, Dick "Dick" Cheney, & Joe Lieberman, among others have nurtured & instituted as national policy.

WorldPublicOpinion said a 2006 poll found that 36 percent of Americans would accept torture in terrorism or other cases, compared with 44 percent now.

Luckily, a very slim majority, 53%, still believe torture ought to be banned. The fact that we are even polling on torture shows how low we have fallen. It's like polling on whether or not sex is fun.

* * * * * * *

There is no longer the shadow of a doubt that the torture of prisoners was planned at the highest levels of the US government with the explicit knowledge and approval of the president. How do we know this? Bush himself admitted it.

Via Tristero.

Original post over at BooMan's.

* * * * ** *

50 State Strategy

Or at least a 14 state strategy. I'm happy about this. It seems to me that a solid Democratic Congress will mitigate against the lousy Bush Dogs that Raum Emmanuel recruited. A good Congress will allow those members, Feingold, Obey, Wexler, Harkin, Sanders, etc., who are true progressives/liberals to be a much more active group & we will get better laws & policies. Being President is probably cool, but if I think back on the Presidents in my lifetime I find it hard to come up with positives accomplishments that are big time (not a reference to the Dick "Dick" Cheney). Probably LBJ's Civil Rights agenda would be the one that I recall off the top of my balding head. The last 40 years have seen a steady decline in our democracy, our civil liberties, our standing as a positive ethical force in the world, much less our treatment of our own citizens. So, while I will not donate to Sen. Obama's election because of his stupid views on FISA, I applaud his campaign for the forward looking approach to the down ticket candidates.

In an unusual move, Obama’s campaign will also devote some resources to states it’s unlikely to win, with the goal of influencing specific local contests in places like Texas and Wyoming.

Get Rid Of Joe Lieberman

Go sign this petition to get rid of Lieberman.

Cool

Via WTF Is It Now? Some great photos at here.

Golden Rays

Patriots

Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Wyden (D-OR)

Notice that Sen. Kohl is no protector of the 4th Amendment. I hope he's not getting tips Joementum Lieberman. Sen. Obama was off campaigning, but, sadly, his asshole position is now well known. Once again, I will vote for the lesser of two evils, Sen. Obama, but he won't be getting any money from the coldH2O bank account. Not that there's much there anyhow.

This Is Truly Appropriate

Let all of America work hard to make sure this monument is named for George W. Bush, aka Bu$hCo. There are days when I just love sunny CA.

The renaming would take effect on Jan. 20, when the new president is sworn in. And regardless of the measure’s outcome, supporters plan to commemorate the inaugural with a synchronized flush of hundreds of thousands of San Francisco toilets, an action that would send a flood of water toward the plant, now called the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant.

My Friend Al

Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot organization voted to give Al Franken their newest $5,000 donation. Since Al is a friend of mine, sorry, but you will need to come to my house to see the photo, since the lame coffee shop I just about live in decided to take down the pic. Screw them. Anyway, go to my friend Al's website to donate more money or to get involved. Thanks to all of my loyal four readers, in advance I might say, for doing your part to elect Progressive Patriots.

Pretty Cool

Woman shows up man, in baseball.

"They may become the living dead,"....

If you haven't seen America's temperate rain forest, you better get out there soon. Or at least in the next few decades.

"The old ones will remain but the seedlings won't grow. All it does is forestall the inevitable."

Low Income Housing

Low & moderate income housing is something very close to my heart. Stories like this make me happy. I'm glad Mo Vaughn is using his money from playing baseball to this good end. It would be better, however, if these buildings were not allowed to fall into disrepair or abandonment in the first place. I know the problems of housing in a small rural county, & they are troubling. Because of that, I can imagine that the problems of affordable housing in urban areas must be near to insurmountable. That being said, good for Mo Vaughn.

Aonther Of A Myriad Of Reasons

We need a President Obama.

Some companies would be permitted to skirt independent lab testing of children's products in favor of their own in-house certification, thanks in large part to lobbying by the world's biggest toymaker....

Yeah, how'd that work for the people in the last eight years? My emphasis.

Impeach Bu$hCo & Dick "Dick" Cheney

Come on Speaker Pelosi, it's time to do your job. How many more items like this will it take?

Over the past five days, the officials said, the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation, including a finding that tough regulation of motor vehicle emissions could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits over the next 32 years.

Where Are The Criminal Proscutions?

Justice? Not yet.

Justice Department officials illegally used “political or ideological” factors in elite recruiting programs in recent years, tapping law school graduates with Federalist Society membership or other conservative credentials over more qualified candidates with liberal-sounding résumés, an internal report found Tuesday.

My emphasis.

Money Changes Some Things

Florida begins to atone for 2000.

It would be Florida’s biggest land acquisition ever, and the magnitude and location of the purchase left environmentalists and state officials giddy.

As If Anyone Really Wants To Know

I have a clean colon.

Hey, Listen

There's a guy in a small town near where the Creek's live who believes that the moon landing was all done in the southern CA desert. Also, another guy from the same town claimed for years to be crossbreeding pheasants & chickens. The worst part of that deal is that every time this came up, a chicken/pheasant expert from the UW-Madison would make the trip up north to debunk the egg/pheasant theory. Although, if he/she was a loyal Democrat, there may have been another reason to travel north, something about martinis or something. Given that, I'm not sure I can believe this debunking.

...we don’t need to worry about a mini black hole eating the planet.

Yeah, sure. They also said a stupid, coke head with a legacy degree from Yale would never be elected President. That sure worked out great for us, didn't it. Via The Raw Story.

Interesting

I'm not sure abut this. It has nothing to do with her being a woman, believe me, but it's about her actual job, providing logistical support for soldiers around the world. It seems to me that women have been doing this sort of work for a long, long time, so why is she being historically honored now? & particularly since she was only appointed to her present position a couple of weeks ago. I don't doubt Lt. Gen. Dunwoody has had a great Army career so far, but I would sure hope this isn't some sort of political ploy from Bu$hCo, or worse, a token appointment. Am I being too sensitive here, or sexist?

McCain/McBush

You bet & a Cheney said it.

CHENEY: At the same time, I think on the really important issues that face the country, on issues like the war on terror and the economy, Senator McCain in fact is advocating those policies that those of us who supported President Bush and the Vice President believe are the right ones for this nation.

Liz Cheney, that is. The rotten fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

This Is The Right Thing To Do

If Mugabe continues to kill your people, compassion says you leave the election. I hope the African nations who could have done something, will now actually do something to solve this horror.

Tom Toles

Yeah, drilling, that's the ticket.

George Carlin, R.I.P.

Obit here.

Crap &, yes, here those other seven words:

And words, you know the seven don't you? Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits, huh? Those are the heavy seven. Those are the ones that will infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war.




My emphasis.

FISA Betrayal

Well, if you want to do something/anything you could do worse that this.

Missed The Summer Solstice Celebration

Again.

Friday Cat Blogging

Wishing to sink our teeth in live birds edition:

Tom Tomorrow

Apropos of the previous post.

About Right

No matter how much the right wing cheerleads for Bu$hCo's failed policies, the American people continue to see through the bullshit. Now, if only the spineless Democratic Party officials would take the courage of the American people to heart. Again, we need to remind the Democrats that their is an important reason why we have spines.

The number of Americans who believe the country is moving in the wrong direction has risen sharply, to nearly eight in ten, amid soaring food and gas prices, falling home values and unending war. Just 17 percent say the country is going in the right direction, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.

I do believe I have exceeded the stooopid AP's self-made law about attribution, eh? I say, so what? & who cares? See, loyal four readers, I'll risk the wrath of the stooopid AP to bring you the news. Maybe they'll throw me in jail. At least I'll get relatively free medical care.

Arrogant Bastards

If their is one thing about ReThugs, it's the inconsistencies. They claim to be such family supporters, but when they have the opportunity to really show some love for families that are not their own, they want the market forces to decide who gets to be a good parent. I hate them. Plus, the spineless Democrats in Congress have only proposed this for federal employees & it's only four weeks in duration. Granted, we have to start somewhere, but I believe the days of incremental change have long since passed us by & we need to address these important issues with speed & certainty. I'm a little tired of the whining that we just don't have the votes. Here's a little advice: go get the votes, for christ's sake, it just ain't that difficult.

And the White House threatened to veto the bill, calling it a "costly, unnecessary, new paid leave entitlement."

Unnecessary for whom? & since when did being a parent become an entitlement?

Another Reason

To wonder why the Roman Catholic church opposes the use of contraception - the church clearly has no interest in the health of women, young women in this case, or, they are gleeful because the have 17 more Roman Catholics on the way. I believe it is the latter, since they sure don't give a shit about the ones that are alive right now.

The school clinic’s medical director and its chief nurse practitioner both resigned in May after the hospital that administers grants for the clinic opposed making contraceptives available to students.

Well, Now I am Distraught

Why the hell did we elect a Democratic Congress two years ago? Beats the hell out of me. Traitors!

La Leche League

Since it involves the boobies, I'm sure the ReThugs are against it. Anyway, good for Edwina.

It's Always Good To Plan Ahead

Fighting Bob Fest. Sounds like another good time, plus a local boy, Eric Schubring, has apparently made good.

Reminder, With Update

There is no longer the shadow of a doubt that the torture of prisoners was planned at the highest levels of the US government with the explicit knowledge and approval of the president. How do we know this? Bush himself admitted it.

Via Tristero.

Original post over at BooMan's


UPDATE:

Here is a report about Gen. Taguba, remember him? He investigated the "alleged" torture, yes, I used the scary quotation marks purposely. He also wrote up his findings. By doing his job, he became another casualty in Bu$hCo's vanity war.

...in this report the general says, “there is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes.”

My emphasis.

Hell Must Be Freezing

I did something tonight that I haven't done in a very long time, if ever. I watched a Milwaukee Brewers game. I know one of my loyal four readers will be nearly ecstatic over this strange behavior. The Brewers won. This may never happen again, the watching of the game part. The Brewers will probably win again.

For Joe, The New Guy

Who left us alone. Arrgghh.

Good

Donna Edwards wins.

Bad News

Again. & I'm afraid it will only get worse with the economy tanking & the high price of gas & diesel. While not a complete cure, I firmly believe that had the country taken seriously the need for high quality mass transit, people could at least get to their jobs without paying $50 to fill up an economy car. That's about 12 gallons at today's prices. Everybody will just need to be careful.

Medical Exams

This is from an Ass-ociated Press article that I won't link to since that company feels that it can invent its own copyright laws, just like the worst President ever invented laws that make him feel great about torturing other people, particularly people who don't share his white skin & silver spoon. So, loyal four readers, you will just need to trust me once more & believe that I am not feeding you a line of bullshit.

Medical examinations of former terrorism suspects held by the U.S. military at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, found evidence of torture and other abuse that resulted in serious injuries and mental disorders, according to a human rights group.

Here We Go Again

I am so tired of crap like this. Let's blame those of us who need the most help for denying those of us who need little help. The gist of this report ought to be that the federal, state, & local governements have made conscious decisions not to fully fund education. In other words, as the stooopidest President ever like to say, we got students who needs to learn, but we got no teachers to teach them their love. The ReThugs set out to divide the public's needs into competing groups who wind up fighting each other, rather than the ReThugs who pulled the strings for the fighting from behind some sort of curtain, only they weren't as lovable as the Wizard of Oz. There is more than enough money to hire the teachers to teach the best & the brightest, there just is not a public desire to hire & pay them. The ReThugs have made pubilc education an enemy of the people, rather than the liberating force it once was. This is one very important reason that we will welcome a President Obama administration next January. We will begin to see how a compassionate nation actually sows compassion. Any study whose conclusion claims that Special Education students are denying education to the brightest students is bullshit on its face. It's also another sign of how journalism has become a shill to the upper class in America, yes, I said upper class, because this is a class society now, something it has been for my lifetime & something I have fought against my entire life.

Many Bee's Knees

Lots of bees, in fact, more bees than mammals & birds combined.

...compiled online species pages and distribution maps for more than 19,200 described bee species....

The Surge, Boss, The Surge

McCain, the liar, keep insisting that Sen. Obama admit that the Surge worked. How's this fit into that admission?

A car bomb ... killed at least 51 people and wounded 75 Tuesday evening....

Kid's Fence

Here are some pics of the work going on down at The Twins place. They apparently want to be fenced in. Or are the parents the culprits?

Here is The Kid Shoveling.

Big Mike & The Son-in-Law Digging

The Kid & The Son-In-Law Doing Some Math

The Son-In-Law's John Henry Imitation

Stickers & Supervising Are Hard Work, Just Ask Us

These are all the lights of my sorry ass life. I am indeed lucky.

Mrs. McCain, Thief?

It seems like a pattern to me.

My Bucket

Here's something I'd like to do before I croak, but I'd settle for finding a few shark's teeth & some more mollusks.

An excavation revealed at least four sauropods, which are long-necked, long-tailed plant-eating dinosaurs, and two carnivorous ones, according to the bureau. It may have also uncovered an herbivorous stegosaurus.

50 Years

& finally married. But, but, but, what will this do to my marriage? I will tell you the truth: absolutely nothing. Congratulations to Ms. Martin & Ms. Lyon. Many happy returns & many years of married bliss. We are making progress, albeit slowly, in this land of the free, sort of.

Doghouse

Go read his latest Peggy Noonan take-down.

We're close enough in age we may well have used the same history text in high school, and I distinctly remember learning about post-Great War isolationism, labor unrest (not the whole story, mind you), Progressivism, robber baronage, the exploitation of Chinese labor and the New York Draft Riots. I'm pretty sure Eugene Debs, Shay's Rebellion, Abolitionism, the Klan, a bowdlerized Helen Keller and a well-scrubbed Margaret Sanger strode the boards there, too. It can't have taken Peggy much of an effort to realize that what she's describing--regardless of how much of it qualifies as non-fiction--is the artifact of an era--in fact, an mish-mash of eras--which had already begun crumbling by the time she was a girleen. And that, of course, the situation may have looked very different were one observing it through the other end of the social, racial, or economic microscope (or were one a middle-class Catholic schoolgirl at a time or place when that was less than popular).

My emphasis.

The Ride Continues

& it's only going to get worse.

Or?

Vet Baby Vet

Apparently, McCain has another problem.

When it was discovered that she'd used a fake Internet identity to undermine the efforts of Jefferson's alleged black descendants, she said it was necessary to make sure the family reunion was "a calm and civilized gathering."

How civilized is that?

Tell The Truth

Their is so much physicians need to learn about what they already know.

Many people do not get such straight talk from doctors, who often think they are doing patients a favor by keeping hope alive.

New research shows they are wrong.

Only one-third of terminally ill cancer patients in a new, federally funded study said their doctors had discussed end-of-life care.

Surprisingly, patients who had these talks were no more likely to become depressed than those who did not, the study found. They were less likely to spend their final days in hospitals, tethered to machines. They avoided costly, futile care. And their loved ones were more at peace after they died.

My emphasis.

Global Warming Killing Salmon

It's no surprise to any thinking person. It is a surprise to Bu$hCo.

More Alaskan salmon caught here end up in the dog pot these days, their orange-pink flesh fouled by disease that scientists have correlated with warmer water in the Yukon River.

The sorting of winners and losers at Moore's riverbank fish camp illustrates what scientists have been predicting will accompany global warming: Cold-temperature barriers are giving way, allowing parasites, bacteria and other disease-spreading organisms to move toward higher latitudes.

"Climate change isn't going to increase infectious diseases but change the disease landscape," said marine ecologist Kevin D. Lafferty, who studies parasites for the U.S. Geological Survey. "And some of these surprises are not going to be pretty."

My emphasis.

Just So You Remember

Happy Father's Day

Cool Find

American Revolution era warship found in Lake Erie. Thank goodness the earlier awful pollution of Lake Erie didn't go deep enough to burn this ship up.

I Think I Know

Where this guy is snapping pictures. & now he's got a boat, which I don't have, so it's possible that he will be smuggling certain items in from Canada, or at least from Upper Michigan, eh? Whitey, huh, well, he didn't change the first letter of his name, so he's not too creative.

Friday Cat Blogging

Tab Benoit, sleeping.

Really Random Pre-Friday Random 10

You My Baby - Rick Tobey
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Glass Onion - The Beatles
More Than That - Willie The Lion Smith
Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen
Drop Me Off In New Orleans - Kermit Ruffins
(They Call Me) Dr. Professor Longhair - Professor Longhair
Home Of The Blues - Laughing Hyenas
Goin' Down South - R.L. Burnside
Do Me A Favour - Arctic Monkeys

Bonus on Friday The 13th:
Speak Love - The Radiators

& yes, I know it's Friday.

Friday The 13th Funny

TBogg.

This coming from someone who thinks a ménage à trois involves a spoon and Ben & Jerry.

You may proceed in ordering your new keyboard or sponging off your monitor.

More ReThug Criminality?

Well, what do you think?

Assholes

Bu$hCo is so low, he probably didn't have to even stoop to do this. I'm no fan of the military, but Bu$hCo has, IMHO, wreaked so much havoc on the armed forces that it will take a long time to put it all back together. This is not about all the men & women in the various services, but this is about the arrogance & viciousness of Bu$hco & Cheney & the rest of the chicken hawks that find war such a fun thing to do. No American, not even a Staff Sergeant can exercise any of the freedoms Bu$hCo, et.al., are supposed to be protecting. I really hope President Obama instructs his Attorney General to prosecute these criminals to the full extent of the law. I will be so happy to see these sons-of-bitches behind bars.

The VA rejected an Afghanistan veteran's disability claim for PTSD last month, citing his membership in VoteVets.org as a reason for the denial.

Staff Sergeant Will King retired from the Army in late 2003, after serving in both the first Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan. As one of the first troops into the Afghan theater after 9/11, Will had been awarded a Bronze Star after participating in fierce fighting in the Shah-e-Kot Valley in March 2002.

Go read the whole sorry episode. Via C&L.

Polite?

I think hilarious.

Via Dependable Renegade.

Begin The Clean-Up, Please

Roy Edroso.

After decades of sunny Reaganism -- promulgated in large part by Noonan herself -- that told us bad choices led to poverty and that each atomized citizen was the master of his entrepreneurial fate, this is rich to the point of vomitousness.
....
What it all comes down to is something I've noticed before: that the old leftist slogan "the personal is the political" has been appropriated wholesale by conservatives. And in the last ditch, where they have reason to believe they currently reside, they will lean on the personal as never before. Because, really, it's all they have left.

My emphasis.

NBC’s Tim Russert Dies

If it's here it must be true. There will be no tears shed in coldH2Oville. Condolences to his family, however.

Irma Thomas

Reminder

There is no longer the shadow of a doubt that the torture of prisoners was planned at the highest levels of the US government with the explicit knowledge and approval of the president. How do we know this? Bush himself admitted it.

Via Tristero.

Original post over at BooMan's

Well I'll Be

Tickled blue.

TalkLeft is proud to now officially declare, "Barack Obama in 2008." He has our full support.

One More Gone

At least they are around in my lifetime. But the Caribbean monk seal is now gone for good, & we are less of a species for it.

Bastards, Just Plain Bastards

Bu$hCo would use the greatest natural disaster in America's history as a photo op. Well, Mary Landrieu, Mary Landrieu, you still negotiated with the bastard after the fact. How'd that work out for you?

Of all of the stories and subplots, there would be one that, in many ways, symbolized the whole of Katrina, what it revealed about the Bush administration, and how it would affect the lives of so many people. On Friday, Mary Landrieu had been with Bush and Blanco as they toured the 17th Street Canal, where, at last, major work had commenced to repair the damage that had been caused when the levee broke. "Then, on Saturday," Landrieu says, "George Stephanopoulos called and asked to do an interview with me, and I said, 'George, I'm tired of doing interviews. I have to work. And nothing you are airing is accurately showing what's going on down here.' He wanted to go to the Superdome, and I said, 'We still have people stranded on their roofs. If you want to tell the right story, I will help you tell the right story. You get a helicopter and I'll go up and I will show you what is actually happening. It's awful what's happening at the Superdome, but the reason the people can't understand the story is because the entire region is under 20 feet of water. People can't get into the Superdome to help. They can't get out. People are drowning in their homes.'

"So George and I went up in the helicopter and for three hours his jaw was dropping. Then I said, 'George, before we finish I have to show you one positive thing because I can't send you back to Washington to produce a story that shows nothing but devastation and disaster.' So I told the pilot to tack right so I can show George the 17th Street Canal and the work that was going on there. I swear as my name is Mary Landrieu I thought that what I saw with the president was still there -- people working, trucks, sandbags, everything. Then I looked down and saw one little crane. It was like someone took a knife and stabbed me through my heart. I lost it." There, in the cabin of the helicopter, as they flew above the breached canal below them, Landrieu sat devastated.

From The Tell Me Something I Already Knew File

Bu$hCo lied. Best sentence:

As Tim told me- “Shorter Phase II Intelligence Report- the dirty fucking hippies were right about everything.”

Badtux the Snarky Penguin

Says this. I agree. Now, let get ready to party like it's 2009.

Government Sucks

I've always been a believer in the power for good that is a government's reason for existence. We need roads, schools, a really good single payer health care system, clean water, clean air, etc. etc. But sometimes I have to agree with the ReThugs, government doesn't use you money wisely, as in the case of the salary of one Mr. Paulinson, who, by reason of an advanced educmacation of some kind, has determined that FEMA will no longer provide ice to the victims of hurricanes. I have never experienced a hurricane, but once a tornado was reported to have touched down over in Sec. 14, but, seriously, WTF? A NOLA blog, Suspect Device, has answers. Here's the best one, IMHO.

Ice, Mr. Paulinson, is what we put the bodies on.

My emphasis.

Up here in Northern Wisco, like other places north of the 45th parallel, we used to get our summer ice this way. The ice, thick cork insulation, & lots of sawdust.

More Good News

Bye-bye old politics, hello Barack Obama. I wonder what the lobbyists running the McCain - Liar About New Orleans campaign are going to do now? McCain is such a loser & even being in the cushioned toilet seat crowd myself (look, it was the cheapest one there, OK?), I'm pretty embarrassed by his continuing delusion. That's OK, however. As someone who knows, humiliation is, oh, screw that, it's good to humiliate ReThugs, they so richly deserve it. (Ha, I laugh at my own jokes, must be the result of watching old YouTubes of Harvey Corman, R.I.P.)

DNC issues a statement:

"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests."

It's his & our party now.

Calling All Wanabee Movie Moguls

OK, loyal four readers, let's see if we can't give the McLiar campaign some neighbors, if you know what I mean. I think it would be great to provide them with unemployed neighbors, sick & uninsured neighbors, Democratic neighbors, Socialist neighbors, Vets for Peace neighbors, pissed off at the ReThugs neighbors, cranky get off my lawn you dang kids neighbors. Well, you get the drift. If any of you do make a movie, get it on the YouTube & send it over here & I'll put it on the blog, even if the ReThugs won't show it at their little get together. I wonder, after that woman & her blue band aid at the last hate fest, if this time they will come in black face?

We Are Going Back To WW2

How many more of these kind of stories will it take before the ReThug Party issues an apology to every single person in the U.S. of A.? I felt crappy for weeks after I got my only speeding ticket. Yes, I'm quite the law abiding citizen. I will add, however, that I was on my way to Kenosha for a dog show & I was out of my element, as it were. My boy did not win or place. Worthless judges, wouldn't know a good dog if it pointed a bird for them, flushed it, shot it, & cooked it up with some garlic & butter.

The equity Americans have in their most important asset — their homes — has dropped to its lowest level since the end of World War II.

Oh, I'm not holding my breath.

I Understand How Politics Works

But Tommy Thompson makes me sick & this also makes me sick.

As President Bush's health chief, Tommy Thompson proudly trumpeted millions of taxpayer dollars to help workers sickened by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the World Trade Center, even amid complaints that his agency wasn't doing enough.

Now, Thompson's private company has won an $11 million contract to treat some of those same workers - the latest twist in a fitful government effort to determine how many people were made ill by the toxic debris and to care for them.

Please call your congressman or senator about this b.s.

Hell, Yeah

The Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. I wish I could have watched, but the trees have sprouted leaves & said leaves block the satellite signals for the local channels. I'm stuck with a gazzillion channels, but I was unable to watch the finals. Congrats to the Red Wings, I've always been a fan of yours. I worried, too many good things have happened today, well, three things.

McLiar

Here's the only reason to make sure McCain comes no where close to the White House.

During his press conference today in Baton Rouge, John McCain declared in strong terms that he's voted for every investigation of Hurricane Katrina.

The only problem, as the DNC has been pointing out to reporters, is he voted twice against Democratic proposals to investigate the levee failures.

My emphasis.

Anton Kelley, R.I.P.

Obit here.

I Echo Echo Echo Echo This

Via MyDD. Hilary Rosen:

So, I am also so very disappointed at how she has handled this last week. I know she is exhausted and she had pledged to finish the primaries and let every state vote before any final action. But by the time she got on that podium last night, she knew it was over and that she had lost. I am sure I was not alone in privately urging the campaign over the last two weeks to use the moment to take her due, pass the torch and cement her grace. She had an opportunity to soar and unite. She had a chance to surprise her party and the nation after the day-long denials about expecting any concession and send Obama off on the campaign trail of the general election with the best possible platform. I wrote before how she had a chance for her "Al Gore moment." And if she had done so, the whole country ALL would be talking today about how great she is and give her her due.

Instead she left her supporters empty, Obama's angry, and party leaders trashing her. She said she was stepping back to think about her options. She is waiting to figure out how she would "use" her 18 million voters.

But not my vote. I will enthusiastically support Barack Obama's campaign. Because I am not a bargaining chip. I am a Democrat.

My emphasis.

Harold Ford Jr. Is Not Very Astute

No wonder he lost his bid for the Senate. In fact, I'm glad he lost his bid for the Senate. TPM watched the news for us last night. Enjoy.

The Right Supports McSame

Well, not so much. Athenae goes where many fear to go, especially if it's a week until wash day. Here's one:

Why, oh WHY...does he always sound:

A) Angry

B) Like an automaton

Simple answer, he's a ReThug. OK, one more:

We are so screwed.

Impeach Gableman

It appears that impeachment is the only way to have Gableman be accountable. I wonder what the present Ashland Co. DA Sean Duffy's role was in the political work out of the DA's office? Somebody should ask.

It's Over, For Sure

History, baby. Now it's all McCain/McLiar/McSame & goodbye to bitterness. I'll admit it, I never thought I would see a black man become President of the United States in my lifetime. Given that I've had a shitty couple of weeks (big time truck troubles), I feel a little better right now.

Complete Dunces

& that includes the idiots at Faux Snooze as well. Here's the best part:

...the flag made in China at a cost of $80,000....

UnMurican bastards, my goodness.

The Need Has Always Been There

The government on every level looks the other way. The lack of planning & funding concerning mass transit is one of the biggest travesties of American life. GM just announced the closure of a plant in Wisco, one of four nationwide, see here. A bit of history:

For example, in the 1930s and 1940s General Motors, Standard Oil, Firestone, Goodyear and other automobile manufacturers bought out and dismantled the electric trolley system in Los Angeles and 75 other cities in order to create demand for their products.

It's called The Great American Streetcar Scandal. How'd that work out for LA?

I Hope They Survive

The Kalasha sound really interesting. I hope the happiness they feel lasts.

According to one account, the dance is meant to frighten away snow leopards; the mountains of Chitral are one of their last remaining habitats. The whistles chase off snakes, while the laughter is for keeping away bears.

Said an elderly Kalasha woman, Jansabi, who has only one name: "Before it (the dancing) was very beautiful. Now everyone just runs around."

I love how this elderly woman just wants the damn kids to keep off her lawn. It's great.

More here & here & here & here (James Bond sounding music on this site.) & here.

Bad News/Good News

Another example of criminal corporate planning. I, for one, won't be sad the Hummer is maybe gone.

CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday before the automaker's annual meeting in Delaware the plants to be closed are in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. He also said the Hummer brand may be discontinued.

Bo Diddley, R.I.P.

Obit here.

We Can Only Hope

That this is true.

Crazy

Here's another musical explanation of what Sen. Clinton's supporters are doing to me.

I'm Real Tired

Sen. Clinton needs to end her run for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination right now. Those of her most outrageous supporters are doing a Nader & threatening to vote for McSame/McLiar in November. Now that is some mature political judgment. I'm sick of it all. So in honor of Sen. Clinton's graceful bow out, here's something for her unhinged supporters:

Amur Tiger Time

I've Got My Eye On You