Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

From the Texas Observer:

Syndicated political columnist Molly Ivins died of breast cancer Wednesday evening at her home in Austin. She was 62 years old, and had much, much more to give this world. She remained cheerful despite Texas politics. She emphasized the more hilarious aspects of both state and national government, and consequently never had to write fiction. She said, "Good thing we've still got politics -- finest form of free entertainment ever invented."

Although short, Molly's life was writ large. She was as eloquent a speaker and teacher as she was a writer, and her quips will last at least as long as Will Rogers'. She dubbed George W. Bush "Shrub" and Texas Governor Rick Perry "Good Hair."

Molly always said in her official résumé that the two honors she valued the most were (1) when the Minneapolis Police Department named their mascot pig after her (she was covering the police beat at the time); and (2) when she was banned from speaking on the Texas A&M University campus at least once during her years as co-editor of The Texas Observer (1970-76). However, she said with great sincerity that she would be proudest of all to die sober, and she did.

She worked as a reporter for The New York Times (1976-82) in New York and Albany and later as Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief covering nine mountain states by herself. After working for the staid Times where she was heavily edited, Molly cut loose and became a columnist for the Dallas Times Herald.

When the Herald folded, she signed on as a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In 2001, she became syndicated, eventually appearing in 400 newspapers. She never lost her love for The Texas Observer or her conviction that a free society relies on public-interest journalism. She found that brand of journalism the most fun. In recent years she shamelessly used her national and international contacts to raise funds for the Observer, which has always survived on a shoestring. More than $400,000 was contributed to the feisty little journal at a roast honoring Molly in Austin October 8. Molly's enduring message is, "Raise more hell."

Her full list of books and awards will be abbreviated here. In addition to compilations of her brilliant, hilarious liberal columns, she wrote with Lou Dubose, Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (Random House 2000) and Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America (Random House 2003). She was working on a Random House book documenting the Bush administration's assault on the Bill of Rights when she died.

Molly, being practical, used many of her most prestigious awards as trivets while serving exquisite French dishes at her dinner parties. Her awards include the William Allen White Award from the University of Kansas, the Eugene V. Debs award in the field of journalism, many awards for advocacy of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the David Nyhan Prize from the Shorenstein Center at the Kennedy School at Harvard.

Molly had a large family, many namesakes, hundreds of close friends, thousands of colleagues and hundreds of thousands of readers. She and her two siblings, Sara (Ivins) Maley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Andy Ivins of London, Texas, grew up in Houston. Her father, James Ivins, was a corporate lawyer and a Republican, which meant she always had someone to disagree with over the dinner table. Her mother, Margot, was a homemaker with a B.A. in psychology from Smith College. In addition to her brother and sister, Molly is survived by sister-in-law Carla Ivins, nephew Drew and niece Darby; niece Margot Hutchison and her husband, Neil, and their children Sam, Andy and Charlie of San Diego, Calif. and nephew Paul Maley and his wife, Karianna, and their children Marty, Anneli and Finnbar of Eltham, Victoria, Australia. Molly followed her mother to Smith and received a B.A. in 1966, followed by an M.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an honorary doctorate from Haverford College.

Statement from The Texas Observer

Molly Ivins left her editor's chair at The Texas Observer more than 30 years ago and went on to play a larger stage. But she never left us behind. She remained convinced that Texas needed a progressive, independent voice to call the powerful to account and to stand up for the common folk.

She kept our voice alive. More than once, when the paper was on the brink of insolvency, she delivered speeches and gave us the honorariums. She donated royalties from her best-selling book Shrub to keep the doors open. Her determination and efforts sustained the Observer as a magazine, as a family, and as a community.

Molly was a hero. She was a mentor. She was a liberal. She was a patriot. She was a friend. And she always will be. With Molly's death we have lost someone we hold dear. What she has left behind we will hold dearer still.

Despite her failing health, and an impending ice storm, Molly insisted on being driven to the Observer's most recent public event in early January so she could thank our supporters. Observer writers are useful, she explained to the crowd, in much the same way as good hunting dogs. Turn them loose, let them hunt. When they return with their prey, pat them on the head, say a few words of praise, and set them loose to hunt again.

For the time being, The Texas Observer's web site will be dedicated to remembering Molly, her work, her wit, her contributions to the political discourse of a nation. We invite readers to submit their own thoughts and recollections, to say a few words of praise. Then, we will return to the hunt.

To read more about Molly Ivins or to make a comment about her, go to Texas Observer. Tax-deductible contributions in her honor may be made to The Texas Observer, 307 West Seventh Street, Austin, TX 78701 or the American Civil Liberties Union, 127 Broad Street, 18th floor, New York, NY 10004.

Memorial services will be announced in the coming days.

An Unique Voice Gone..... Molly Ivins, God Rest.

Selected Molly Ivins Quotations

• The first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging.

• What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority.

• The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.

• Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.

• I believe that ignorance is the root of all evil. And that no one knows the truth.

• You can't ignore politics, no matter how much you'd like to.

• It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America.

• I am not anti-gun. I'm pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We'd turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don't ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives.

• What stuns me most about contemporary politics is not even that the system has been so badly corrupted by money. It is that so few people get the connection between their lives and what the bozos do in Washington and our state capitols.

And my favorite.....

• It's like, duh. Just when you thought there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you're wrong.

Birthday Calculator

Enter your birthdate for some facts and fun. Here are my results:

You were born on a Monday
under the astrological sign Cancer.
Your Life path number is 3.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 2, 5 & 11.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 4, 7, 8 & 22.

You were born in the Chinese year of the Dragon.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Woodpecker; your plant is Wild Rose.

You are 373,507 hours old.
You are 22,410,463 minutes old.
You are 1,344,627,787 seconds old.


Your birth tree is:

Fig Tree, the Sensibility
Very strong, a bit self-willed, independent, does not allow contradiction or arguments, loves life, its family, children and animals, a bit of a butterfly, good sense of humour, likes idleness and laziness, of practical talent and intelligence.

HAT TIP to: That Undeniable Liberal! =)

Timz

Iraqi-American rapper Timz tells his tale of the situation in "Iraq":



Filling in for Hannity, Walker Texas Ranger is dispatched to smack down Timz in a Faux News interview, and winds up looking like the moron that he is:



Today's Quote of the Day:

"Ya know, Fox is just one vowel movement away from what they really do to the news"

-Randi Rhodes

Bump keys

Peifer Safe & Lock of Memphis, TN recently put out the following warning to their customers. Would they like to sell you some locks and other home security products? Of course! But this is a real home security threat that you might not have been aware of if they didn't put it out there as part of their marketing strategy.

From owner, Glen Peifer:

"We are being proactive in alerting our customers of a lock picking technique that is being broadcast all over the internet. Google search "bump key" and you will find information about how to make these keys and use them. You will even find sites where anyone can buy pre-made sets of bump keys in several common keyways. In my opinion, the risk factor is very high with this technique because it works on a high percentage of locks (residential and commercial) and it only takes a minute to learn. Locks that are especially vulnerable are master-keyed cylinders. Local and National news stations are airing stories on this problem. I want to make my customers aware of this potential threat. You need to know how to safeguard against this technique and what to be aware of. If you want more information or if I can advise you further on the security of your home or business, I will make myself available at your convenience. "



Here is the contact info for this company:

Peifer Safe & Lock • 4761 Knight Arnold • Memphis, TN • 38118
Phone: 901-363-6396 • Fax: 901-363-6986

Local college producing bio-diesel

Last March I wrote an article about Willie Nelson and his bio-diesel production. Turns out that even a local college has jumped onto this bandwagon! My thanks to Dr.Phil for getting this story to me. From Manchester College:

Students who
eat veggie-fried foods help the environment, College - honest!

What
started curiously with a “What if?” is fueling student lab work,
lessons in environmental science – and Manchester College lawnmowers, a
maintenance van and leaf blowers.

What
if the College converted that used vegetable frying oil from Chartwells
dining service into biodiesel, wondered Jeff Osborne, assistant
professor of chemistry. “The concept of taking a waste product, such as
vegetable oil and converting it into something useful is what I like,”
the scientist noted.

Chartwells was happy to
provide the cash and to part with its grease for education, and for
stewardship – of the environment and the College’s fuel resources.

Osborne found plans for an
“Appleseed reactor” on the internet. The name is for the spirit of the
reactor: that people should spread the recycling word like Johnny did
his appleseed and make their own non-profit, biodiesel contraption.

The process is fairly simple:
Osborne and a student researcher mix methanol and lye (sodium hydroxide)
with the vegetable oil in an 80-gallon water heater for three hours,
then pump the mixture into a separation tank. In the tank, the biodiesel
rises to the top and glycerol, which forms during the reaction, sinks to
the bottom with other by-products and is drained out. Then, the
biodiesel is washed with water, turning it the color of honey – and not
smelling a bit like diesel.

They are creating fuel so
safe a curious animal could swallow a taste or two without harm. The
fuel also is very difficult to ignite with a match. And the biodiesel
actually can clean deposits out of the fuel tank.

Manchester
is using its biodiesel in lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and some vehicles.
The fuel requires no alterations to the equipment, said campus mechanic
Cornelius “Corny” Troyer. An engine that runs on diesel will run on
biodiesel, too, although he is quick to note there are cold-weather
challenges and that Manchester is far from fueling all of its vehicles
with the grease concoction.

Test runs began a year ago,
when January Session students in Osborne’s Chemical Science class first
poured their experiment into an engine. Troyer is still pretty sneaky as
he oversees the biodiesel fueling of MC equipment. He doesn’t tell
machine operators they are running biodiesel so they won’t form
preconceived notions about the fuel or how it affects their engines.
He’ll arrive at work at 5 a.m., just so no one sees which fuel he is
pouring into the tanks.

So far – nary a complaint,
although mower Carl Strike is quite certain he’s whiffing French fries
as he crisscrosses the campus mall.

Amanda Patch ’08,
a biology-chemistry major from Otterbein, Ind., is assisting Osborne –
and helped demonstrate the project at what students say is one of the
neatest convocations ever, with fireballs, a huge mower on stage, a
boots-clad executive, explosions and fire extinguishers at the ready.

Patch has medical school in
her future. “I’m doing this because I have to give back to Manchester
somehow and this is a great way to do that while learning about
chemistry and the various solutions to energy,” she said.

What’s in it for the College?
A constant reminder of the possibilities of biodiesel to students,
faculty and staff as they see mowing and leaf-blowing on campus. Good
training in environmental science for students participating in the
grease-to-diesel conversion. An environmentally cleaner campus and less
landfill waste.

With assistance from its
students, the College’s Biology and Chemistry departments can produce
about 100 gallons of biodiesel per month. (Each batch is 50 gallons.) To
supply the College’s need for 1,750 gallons a year would require larger
equipment and a funding/staffing shift from the laboratory to the
maintenance department.

And, of course, there’s the
math:

The college spends $2.60 to
$2.80 per gallon for diesel. (Some already is manufactured biodiesel,
Troyer notes)

The biodiesel costs 80 cents
a gallon to make in the lab during the school year, for a maximum output
of 900 gallons. That’s a potential $1,800 savings for the
College.

“Biodiesel is not the
answer,” admits Osborne, who is quick to note that MC academics are not
getting into the fuel business. “But we have to do something different
to help protect the environment.”

They Speak For Themselves

better than any of us could....

"The Real McCain". Must Check Out New Site!!!

Wonderful new site started by Robert Greenwald & Cliff Schecter.
Check out the "Double Talk Express"!!!!

South Bend Tribune LTE Writer Makes Funny On Mitch

I can't find it on the website (I always have problems with their site- it sucks),
but take my word for it, this was in todays' paper.

A Comparison

Having "My Man Mitch" as your governor is like having a really bad boyfriend:
First, he sells off all of your stuff without asking,
then he starts nagging you all the time to lose weight.

Jeff Reed
South Bend

Couldn't have said it better myself.

You tell me. . .

Welcome once again to another edition of "Make Yer Own Caption", the only thing worth looking forward to on Monday mornings! Well. . .aside from actually waking up at all. . .

Wind up yer wit, pound out some puns, and. . .amaze me once more:

One week from today. . .

Stunningly Simple Move From Senator Tester

Just an incredibly smart and d'oh-why-didn't-they-think of it move....
CNN

Tester aims for Senate transparency online



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Whether it's a visit to the gym, a meeting with the founder of the Montana Meth Project, or an interview with Wolf Blitzer, staff for freshman Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, post his entire schedule online each workday -- a Senate first.

A spokesman says Tester pledged to do this early in his 2006 campaign out of a "desire for transparency." The Senator's schedule reflects meetings with visiting Montanans, committee colleagues, as well as the occasional lobbyist. The information "gives people an opportunity to see with whom [Tester] is meeting, and if they represent the opposite point of view, they can also request a meeting," said the spokesman.

The Sunlight Foundation -- a group working for greater government transparency -- has been pushing for more online disclosures of this kind.

You can see it here.

I wonder how many of our elected officials will be following suit?

****crickets*****

Cross Posted at Sipping Pickle Juice

Leiberman Has To GO!!!

Faux News Sunday

WALLACE: As soon as he did, Senate Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi said nope, there's a bipartisan structure, it's called the committee system.

LIEBERMAN: Yes. Well, I was really disappointed with the reaction of Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to the president's offer or invitation to have essentially a bipartisan war council, and it's a war on terror council.

(snip)

WALLACE: Joe Lieberman grew up in John Bailey's Connecticut, Democratic vice presidential nominee. You're saying you might vote Republican in 2008.

LIEBERMAN: I am

Cross Posted at Sipping Pickle Juice

Ted Kennedy vs GOP on Minimum Wage

THANK YOU, Ted! That SO needed to be said. . .

PT Cruiser returns!

"I have an overhead projector...

and I'm not afraid to use it."






Ladies and gentlemen! Children of all ages! After a long and rather unpleasant encounter with Vonage, The PT Cruiser is back on the streets of San Francisco!

Do drop in and pay him a visit. . .he fears that we have forgotten him! As if!
Welcome back, amigo! You have been missed here in the left blogosphere. . .

The Mechanic

A gynecologist had a burning desire to change careers and become a mechanic. So she found out from her local tech college what was involved, signed up for evening classes and attended diligently, learning all she could.

When time for the practical exam approached, she prepared carefully for weeks, and completed the exam with tremendous skill.When the results came back, she was surprised to find that she had obtained a mark of 150%. Fearing an error, she called the instructor, saying "I don't want to appear ungrateful for such an outstanding result, but I wondered if there had been an error which needed adjusting."

The instructor said, "During the exam, you took the engine apart perfectly, which was worth 50% of the total mark. You put the engine back together again perfectly, which is also worth 50% of the mark. I gave you an extra 50% because you did all of it THROUGH the muffler..."

DC March for Peace

Tens of thousands of protesters from all across America joined numerous celebrities and lawmakers today to rally against the war at the U.S.Capitol in Washinton D.C. Their hope to press their cause with a Congress restive on the war and a country that has turned against the conflict.

Robert Rouse of Left of Centrist was among the attendees, and I'm sure he'll have a great write-up on it after he gets some well-deserved rack time. Other notable attendees included Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Jesse Jackson and Dennis Kucinich. In her first protest in 34 years, Jane Fonda addressed the crowd saying "Silence is no longer an option".

The peace brigade assembled at 11 am at the National Mall to hear the featured speakers listed above, and marched around Capitol Hill at 1 pm. 300 buses from over 40 states drove protesters in, as well as untold numbers of citizens such as Mr.Rouse and company who car-pooled in together.

A small contingent of active-duty service members attended the rally, wearing civilian clothes because military rules forbid them from protesting in uniform. One, Air Force Staff Sgt. Tassi McKee, 26, said she signed up because of patriotism, travel and money for college. "After we went to Iraq, I began to see through the lies," she said.

United for Peace and Justice, a coalition group sponsoring the protest, had hoped 100,000 would come. They claimed even more afterward, but police, who no longer give official estimates, said privately the crowd was just under 100,000.

Bush, who normally manages to be out of town during these things, was at the White House, likely with all of the shades drawn. Cheney was at an undisclosed location, natch.

The deed is done. . .

Left in Aboite is now officially running under the NEW Blogger. I had received several invites to upgrade but every time I attempted to, I was told that my blog was too large to switch at this time. That was under the IE platform; tonight I attempted it once more, under Mozilla Firefox, and it went right through! Everything seems to be functioning normally, but do let me know it you encounter any problems. . .

Friday Nite Retro

Welcome once again to Friday Nite Retro here at Left in Aboite! Tonight's feature is Mr.80's Blue-Eyed Soul himself, Paul Young. I had thought Paul Young was dead; turns out he is, but not THIS Paul Young. The Paul Young who sang in "Mike & the Mechanics" and Sad Cafe died from a heart attack in 2000.

THIS Paul Young just turned 51 on January 17th. He got his start as the teenage lead singer of "Kat Kool & The Kool Kats". In the 70's he joined "StreetBand" which scored #18 on the UK charts in 1978 with this silly little song about toast:

Toast


But you'll probably remember Paul more from his debut album here in the states, "No Parlez", which featured this catchy little number:

Come Back and Stay


In 1984, Paul suffered from a serious throat condition that left him completely unable to sing. He recovered enough to join Band-Aid at the end of the year for this perennial Christmas favorite. Enjoy all of the 80's pop stars in this one:

Do They Know It's Christmas


His problems with his vocal fold nodules led to surgery after that, which changed his voice, evident here in this comeback single:

I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down


Paul's biggest hit came with his 1985 rendition of Daryl Hall's "Every Time You Go Away":

Every Time You Go Away


Paul has worked with many other performers over the years,including Crowded House and with Queen on this tribute to Freddie Mercury shortly after his death:

Radio Gaga


His latest effort is a swing styled album which was released in Germany on November 6th 2006. "Rock Swings" contains such diverse tracks as Eminem's "Lose yourself", Soft Cell's "Tainted Love", David Bowie's "The Jean Genie", Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto", all recorded with a big band sound.

"Path To 9/11" Redux. Bigger, Better W/Hannity On Top.

I must stress the fact that there has not been ANYONE more committed to exposing the hypocrisy of ABC News or Disney Entertainment than John at AmericaBlog. He is a whiz at co-ordinating boycotts, and he once again has ABC/Disney in his sites.

The rumblings from the ABC/Disney vs Spocko had lessened to a dull roar, when this was revealed....

Media Bistro

Hannity's America To Air Unseen Footage From ABC's "The Path To 9/11"

"Fox News Channel is touting the fact that it has obtained controversial unseen footage from ABC's miniseries 'The Path to 9/11' and is planning to air the video during 'Hannity's America' on Sunday night," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Fox News obtained the outtakes by taping a public talk that Cyrus Nowrasteh, writer and producer of 'The Path to 9/11,' gave to a World Affairs Council chapter last Friday at Cal State Channel Islands. Nowrasteh discussed making the docudrama and played several minutes edited out of the movie," the Los Angeles Times adds.

What scene you ask?



Think Progress

Richard Clarke Blasts Key Scene In ABC’s 9/11 Docudrama

The first night of Path to 9/11 has a dramatic scene where former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger refuses to give the order to the CIA to take out bin Laden — even though CIA agents, along with the Northern Alliance, have his house surrounded.
(snip)
In short, this scene — which makes the incendiary claim that the Clinton administration passed on a surefire chance to kill or catch bin Laden — never happened. It was completely made up by Nowrasteh (writer-ed).

So, Sean Hannity on his pathetic little show, is going to show clips of this Nowrasteh guys' lecture, that includes the debunked false scenes from the POS "Path To 9/11". Pretty sad, and in itself wrong.

BUT IT GETS WRONGER

In brief, the premise behind behind the dust up between ABC and a little know blogger named Spocko....

Media Matters

In 2006, a blogger named Spocko began spotlighting inflammatory rhetoric common to several talk radio hosts on KSFO, an ABC Radio-owned station in San Francisco. Spocko compiled a litany of examples on both his weblog, Spocko's Brain, and in numerous letters to corporations advertising on KSFO.
(snip)
...on December 21, ABC Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group, apparently issued a cease-and-desist letter targeting Spocko and his blog for copyright violation. Specifically, ABC alleged that by posting brief audio clips of various talk radio hosts on KSFO, the site was "in clear violation" of the station's copyright. The letter demanded that the owner of the site "remove the content immediately." Soon after, according to Spocko, his Internet service provider shut down his blog.

So, ABC/Disney must be UP IN ARMS over this UNAUTHORIZED usage of their film clips!!! Right?

LA Times (registration required)

"I can't imagine what the news is here," he said.

An early version of the miniseries that ABC distributed to television critics is readily available on YouTube.com and other websites.

Fox News does not have ABC's permission to broadcast the unaired footage, but an attorney for the network said officials there believed that the newsworthiness of the material put it under the fair-use exception to the copyright statute.

So, what would the final judgement be?

So Disney/ABC don't care about the truth, though we already knew that. And why pray tell have Disney/ABC and YouTube refused to take down the video of the show that is STILL on YouTube to this day? It's a clear copyright violation, and we know how overzealous YouTube is about its purported copyright violations. And Disney is NOTORIOUS for asserting its copyright rights, yet in this case, Disney doesn't care. And for some reason, YouTube isn't so zealous about enforcing its own policy about illegally broadcasting video when the target is a Democrat.

Isn't that interesting.

The more I pay attention to this stuff, the more it looks like a co-ordinated attack. Everyone is giving everyone else a reach around, so everyone is "happy".

One last tidbit
AmericaBlog

President Clinton contacting head of Disney over rekindled "Path to 9/11" controversy
by John in DC - 1/26/2007 03:05:00 PM

President Clinton's office has just informed me that they're "taking it all the way to the top at Disney to find out why they're not enforcing copyright" in this matter.

Editor's Note: This column was written by Paddy Kraska. Blogger is NOT cooperating with her at all for some reason. . .

Senator Hagel speaks out

Republican senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska delivers an honest assessment on Iraq and the last several years. Dick Lugar, are you heeding this man's words and actions? Hagel is a Republican with a conscience. . .heed his advice. If not, you may find your electability finally in question here in Indiana. . .

Run, Al, Run! Please?

The ideal candidate for the Democrats may be the man who won the popular vote in 2000 -- and who opposed the war in Iraq from the very start.

From Rolling Stone magazine

A stiff vice president campaigns on his administration's legacy of unprecedented prosperity. Looks terrible on TV. Bows out, following a disputed vote count. Then, two terms later, with no incumbent in the race, he re-enters the fray. Promises to change the course of a disastrous war founded on lies. And charges to victory. I'm referring, of course, to the 1968 campaign of Richard Milhous Nixon. But four decades later, history has a chance to repeat itself for Albert Arnold Gore.

If the Democrats were going to sit down and construct the perfect candidate for 2008, they'd be hard-pressed to improve on Gore. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has no controversial vote on Iraq to defend. Unlike Barack Obama and John Edwards, he has extensive experience in both the Senate and the White House. He has put aside his wooden, policy-wonk demeanor to emerge as the Bush administration's most eloquent critic. And thanks to An Inconvenient Truth, Gore is not only the most impassioned leader on the most urgent crisis facing the planet, he's also a Hollywood celebrity, the star of the third-highest-grossing documentary of all time.

"He's perceived very differently now than he was six years ago," says Frank Luntz, the Republican consultant who advised George W. Bush to dispute global warming during the 2000 and 2004 elections. "He's an icon. Imagine that: Al Gore, Mr. Straight and Narrow, Mr. Dull on Wheels -- now he's culturally cool."

Indeed, Gore is unique among the increasingly crowded field of Democratic contenders. He has the buzz to beat Obama, the substance to supplant Hillary, and enough stature to enter the race late in the game and still raise the millions needed to mount a successful campaign. "Very few people who run for president can just step in when they want, with a superstar, titanic presence," says James Carville, the dean of Democratic strategists. "But Gore clearly is one of those. He's going to run, and he's going to be formidable. If he didn't run, I'd be shocked."

Look at what Gore has been up to lately, and it's hard to escape the impression that, on some level, he is already running for president. Over the past few months he has made high-profile appearances on the Today show, the Tonight Show and Oprah, and he displayed his trademark deadpan humor in a stint on Saturday Night Live. "He's keeping himself viable by keeping himself in the public eye," says Donna Brazile, who served as Gore's campaign manager in 2000.

He has also been active under the media radar. In December, Gore quietly took part in the year's largest event organized by MoveOn, the grassroots group that helped make Howard Dean the front-runner in 2004. After tens of thousands of MoveOn members gathered at house parties across the country to watch An Inconvenient Truth on DVD, Gore joined them in an Internet conference call. Although global warming was the call's official topic, the discussion was charged with electoral expectations.

As the Internet crowds submitted questions for Gore through an online interface, the text of each query popped up on an animated map of the United States for all to read on their computer screens. There were hundreds of submissions -- and at least a third of them dealt with regime change rather than climate change. "Would you please run for president," wrote Rhonda in Poway, California. "What are the circumstances under which you would run for president again?" asked Doug in Marshal, North Carolina.

Eli Pariser, who was moderating the call as MoveOn's executive director, finally rose to the bait. "I have to ask this one because it's come up so many times," he told Gore. "Carol from Indianapolis says, 'Would you please, please run?'"

Gore, on speakerphone with Tipper from his home in Nashville, offered his stock response. "I'm not planning on running for president again," he said -- stopping well short of an actual denial.

But the nation's most experienced political strategists agree that Gore is carefully laying the groundwork for a possible run. "He's running in a nontraditional way, which has been powerful," says Bill Carrick, a veteran Democratic consultant. "It has made him look much more interesting than if he had just been the former vice president sitting out there and thinking about a run."

Gore has carved out a public role for himself that's usually reserved for rock stars and Tour de France winners. What Bono is to Third World debt and Lance Armstrong is to cancer, Gore is to global warming. "He's the indispensable character in the drama of the climate crisis," says Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "If it has a happy ending, he'll be the hero. If it has a tragic ending, he'll be the tragic hero." And like Bono, Gore can pack a house, even in red-state America: In January, tickets for a Gore speech at a 10,000-seat stadium in Boise, Idaho, sold out in less than twenty-four hours.

"He has built an infrastructure that is impervious to traditional political calculations," says Ron Klain, Gore's former chief of staff. "His base of support is truly national -- no matter what else happens, no matter who else is in the race."

Gore's biggest opponent for the nomination would likely be Hillary Clinton -- and no one in the current field of Democrats is better situated to capitalize on her weaknesses than Gore. In September 2002, just before Clinton and every other Democrat who hoped to run for president voted to authorize the war in Iraq, Gore gave a no-holds-barred speech inveighing against the invasion. "The chaos in the aftermath of a military victory in Iraq," he warned, "could easily pose a far greater danger to the United States than we presently face from Saddam."

At the time, recalls Carrick, Washington insiders dismissed the speech as sour grapes. "The Democratic establishment all said, 'Oh, Al's just out there doing this because he's bitter. This just proves he's never going to run again.' But they all proved to be wrong and he was exactly right. There's nothing more powerful than that."

Thanks to his vocal opposition to the war -- and his decision to back Howard Dean's anti-war candidacy in 2003 -- Gore has all but sewn up the backing of the party's "Netroots" activists. Eli Pariser calls Gore "a close friend of MoveOn," and Markos Moulitsas, the founder of DailyKos, is equally unabashed in his support. "More than any other Democrat over the last four years, Gore has actually delivered," says Moulitsas, one of the Internet's most influential organizers. "If Gore enters the race, it's his nomination for the taking." In an online poll of 14,000 activists held in December by DailyKos, sixty percent voted for Gore. By comparison, Clinton received just 292 votes.

Gore's deep ties to online activists could neutralize Clinton's greatest advantage: her fund-raising prowess. Gore retains a network of big-dollar donors from his 2000 campaign, and many of the party's biggest funders are reportedly sitting on their checkbooks, waiting to see if he enters the race. "If Howard Dean could raise $59 million on the Internet," says Carrick, "the mind boggles as to what Al Gore might do." Joe Trippi, who managed Dean's campaign, believes Gore could raise as much as $200 million on the Internet: "Gore may have more money than anybody within days of entering the race."

What's more, strategists say, Gore has mobilized an environmental constituency that rivals Hillary's support among women and Obama's standing among black voters. "There are millions of people who call themselves environmental activists -- but until now, no one has ever been able to make the environment a voting issue," says Luntz, the GOP strategist. "Gore took the environment from deep inside the newspaper and put it on the front page for the first time. He would be able to say to people, 'If you really care about global warming, you have to vote for me.'"

Above all, Gore has replaced his image as a boring, cautious technocrat with that of a dynamic, plain-spoken visionary. "We've seen the real Al Gore," says Moulitsas of DailyKos. "Not the prepackaged, consultant-muzzled Al Gore, but the actual, this-is-what-Al-Gore-who-doesn't-give-a-shit-about-winning-elections looks like." In national polls, Gore's favorability numbers now rank above Hillary's.

Most of gore's closest associates believe that he is unlikely to run. "He's hanging out with interesting people, he's making money, but he's still having a serious impact on the political discourse," says Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democratic Network. "You could look at all that and say, 'My God, he'll never run for president.'"

But others who have worked with Gore insist that he is simply biding his time. "Gore seems committed to being a late candidate," says Dick Morris, the strategist who masterminded Bill Clinton's '96 campaign. "He's not going to be out front as a playmaker. He's going to wait and see if there's room for him."

Waiting makes sense, given the current political landscape. "Jumping in too early is a huge mistake for him," says Tony Coelho, who chaired Gore's 2000 campaign. "If the party wants to have Hillary, there's nothing Gore can do or say to stop it. But Barack Obama could be a godsend for Gore. Obama makes Hillary look like just another politician, as opposed to a fresh woman's face. He could slow her up, and John Edwards can create further doubts."

According to David Gergen, who has served in the Nixon, Reagan and Clinton administrations, that scenario could create an opening for Gore. "If the three of them fight each other to a bloody draw, nobody emerges as the cherished front-runner," he says. "Then you to turn to Al Gore as someone who is not scarred up by the battle. He would look very formidable."

Letting others battle-test Hillary's viability as a front-runner has an added benefit for Gore: It allows him to put off a bruising political confrontation with Bill Clinton. Some insiders suggest that a reticence to take on his generation's most brilliant political mind -- and someone renowned as a take-no-prisoners campaigner -- is the primary factor keeping Gore off the roster. "It's one thing to distance yourself from Bill Clinton, as Gore did in 2000," says a Democratic strategist who has advised both men. "It's another to run against Bill Clinton when the former first lady is heading the field."

If Gore does decide to run, there is no question that his entry into the race would instantly reshuffle the deck. "He would dislodge a whole lot of Hillary support," says Luntz, "opening up this race so that anyone would have a shot." He would also have history on his side: Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland, both of whom won the popular vote but lost the presidency, reached the White House on their next tries.

But even those who have worked most closely with Gore agree that his candidacy would face some significant hurdles. "You got a lot of people pretty skeptical," says Carville. "There's labor. The African-American community is not particularly close to Gore. The trial lawyers are certainly going to favor Edwards." Even Gore's prescience on the war may not be the towering advantage that many are predicting. "One is always penalized for being right about too many things," Carville says. "Prophets are shot in this town."

Further complicating the picture is the new, accelerated primary calendar, which adds South Carolina and Nevada to the traditional races in Iowa and New Hampshire, forcing Democrats to face four contests in the first fifteen days. A late start could make it tough for Gore to win Iowa, where Edwards has established an early lead and former governor Tom Vilsack looms as a hometown hero. But he would stand a good chance of beating Hillary in New Hampshire, where a battle between John McCain and Rudy Giuliani on the GOP side of that state's open primary is likely to siphon off large numbers of independent voters -- leaving anti-war Gore supporters to dominate the Democratic vote. Unlike Clinton and Obama, Gore could also sweep the South, knocking native son John Edwards out of the race.

Should he win the nomination, Gore would stack up well against the likely Republican contenders. In the earliest head-to-head polls, he performs as well as Hillary and better than any other Democrat in the field, edging McCain by one percent and running even against Giuliani. "If Gore secures the nomination," says Gergen, "his chances of victory would be strong."

Gore's biggest challenge, however, may come from within. "He's kind of a klutzy politician," says Elaine Kamarck, a Gore confidante. If he has any hope of being president, Gore has to find a way to stay in touch with the looser, more confident side of himself that has emerged in recent years.

"Al Gore is so appealing now because he's free," says Trippi. "The real question is, will he be able to maintain that freedom as a candidate? Or as soon as he has something to lose, does he revert back to that cautious, overly consulted guy we saw in 2000?"

As the campaign heats up over the next six months, Gore will remain very much in the public eye. In February, he'll be up for an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth May, he will publish a new book, The Assault on Reason, and in July he is planning a series of concerts to raise awareness about global warming.

But Gore's greatest appeal may come, ultimately, from what he represents to voters fed up with two terms of the Bush administration. "He'll be able to make the case that he should have been president already," says Carrick. "And that had he been president, things would have been a lot different, with the Iraq war being Exhibit A."

This, agrees Luntz, is Gore's greatest draw. "Democratic voters in 2008 are not only looking to turn back the last eight years, but to erase the last eight years," he says. "If I were working for Gore, I'd message around a single word: Imagine. 'Imagine if I'd been president instead of George W. Bush. Imagine where we'd be today.' "

SOTU Recap

I, along with several other notable liberal bloggers, had a very good time last night watching the SOTU speech courtesy of our gracious host, Fernando! By "very good time" I mean I don't remember much after 9:45 and had to watch Jim Webb's response in replay today. It could have been much worse, I guess. . .I didn't wake up in bed this morning with my shoes still on like someone did! ;) Don't mess with Texas, my ass! lol

Although HaloScan was a major pain in the ass, Fernando logged over 400 comments in a roughly five-hour span! That was the only major glitch; the site set-up, the videos, the live-tequila-shots-cam, and rules for the game were well done indeed! Thanks to Nando and Hill for doing such an amazing job, and thanks to The Poetry Man for babysitting our sloshed asses (Never did get MY keys!).

A very happy, albeit belated, birthday to you, AZ! I only missed you by minutes (I think). Dusty, good to have almost run into you as well!

So. . .as you may have determined, I really have no recap of last night's laughable attempt to play to the middle whilst still staying the course on the ONE issue that America is so united AGAINST. Wait, maybe I just did. . .But here are some more elaborate writings on that subject:

- Robert Live Blogs the SOTU Speech

- Hill Tells Us How She REALLY Feels

- Pam on What We WISH He'd Said

- Sumo Likes the World Wide WEBB

- Dusty Dishes on Dumbya's Doings

I must add that this was the very first Bush SOTU speech that I actually enjoyed. But, then again, my recollections on the matter are not entirely clear. . .

State of the Union Address..... The Prequel

Tucker Carlsons' Dad #1 In Libby Defense Fund*Ask MSNBC Why He's Commenting?!?!

I've stewed over this for quite a while. I had heard on and off the Tucker Carlsons' dad Richard Carlson was bff with Scooter Libby, and headed his legal defense fund. SO WHY IS TUCKER COMMENTING ON THE LIBBY CASE WITHOUT AT LEAST A NOTATION TO THAT EFFECT???

CBS News

Libby Gets A Little Help From His Friends
More Than $3M Donated To Legal Fund For Indicted Former Cheney Aide

I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby won't lack powerful friends or financial resources when he goes on trial on Tuesday. A private fund set up to pay the legal bills of the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney has collected more than $3 million since Libby's indictment 14 months ago.

(snip)
One of those friends is Dick Carlson, a former ambassador and Republican stalwart who has headed the Voice of America and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (Carlson’s son is Tucker Carlson, the conservative TV pundit.)

Like many of Libby’s well-heeled friends, Carlson wasted no time in coming to his aid. On the day the indictment was announced in October 2005, Carlson said: “I sent a check by courier to Scooter’s house in McLean with the assumption that he’d need it.”

That check was the impetus for what quickly morphed into The Scooter Libby Legal Defense Trust. A source close to the trust said more than $3 million has been collected to pay Libby's legal bills. The public face of the defense fund is a cadre of Republican heavyweights that include Mary Matalin, Steve Forbes and Jack Kemp.

Back in March, it looks like Arianna took Tucker to the woodshed and dirtied the knees of his jumper. Musta pissed him off....

A nasty little propagandist

I didn't mention my father's support for Scooter Libby because it was irrelevant. Completely and utterly. Libby was my father's personal lawyer long before he joined the Bush administration. They're friends, and that has nothing at all to do with me. I've met Scooter Libby precisely once.

Tucker goes on to characterize Ariannas' column as ....." attempted character assassination by a nasty little propagandist. "

Ariannas' WONDERFULLY SOURCED COHERANT COLUMN HERE....

The Full Disclosure Tucker Carlson Isn't Making

I don't see how this could be anything but revelant. What, MSNBC doesn't have enough commenters that Tucker couldn't just bow out on this one?
Not enough semi-dirty stories for Tucker to cover?

It's called "Conflict Of Interest". He's on right now, making excuses for Libby.

dabrams@msnbc.com

Tucker just called it an "Abuse of Power".

Goodnight, George.

Congressional Republicans today pushed back against the "decider"'s decision to increase troop strength in Iraq, despite massive public outcry against such a measure. You think he's not seeing the outcry now, just wait until Saturday! Oh, he'll still ignore what America thinks and "stay the course", although of course "it's never been about staying the course". . .is this the same asshat that labeled John Kerry a "flip-flopper"? I guess he decided to stay the course before he decided to not stay the course. Nope. . .that still sounds stupid; doesn't matter who ya fling it at. . .

Tomorrow night, this "president" will act conciliatory on several issues and attempt to prove that he is in fact a "uniter, not a divider". Yet the one issue that America has dumped back into his lap, the one issue that cost his party the majorities in both houses, the one issue that every single general has disagreed with him on, the one issue that he is most gravely wrong on. . .is the one issue on which he will remain defiant. He will stubbornly refuse to back down on his "surge" plan, let alone begin planning for an exit strategy.

This man, who has so often accused others of "flip-flops", "finger in the wind" management, and making decisions based upon the latest polls, received a hard right punch 70 days ago. He apparently is too blinded by his own stubborness and self-delusion to see the left hook coming his way if he follows through with this latest debacle. Many beleive that Democrats will only offer non-binding resolutions or other chiding. I too, beleived this not long ago. . .when I had a faint hope that he would react to the events around him and finally. . .finally. . .make the right choices. That faint hope is now disappearing, and after his "message" tomorrow eve, I fear it shall be as dead and buried as Hussein. Which is ironic, since Bush displays much of the same stubborness, defiance, and despotism of that man that he executed. Perhaps he hated the image in the mirror so much that he was compelled to destroy it. . .

Tomorrow night, George W. Bush will complete his final transformation to the dark side, little doubt there was of this happening. Over 3,000 American troops and over 600,000 innocent Iraqi civilians have died in this effort. . .but that's not enough for this man. He's the megalomaniac in Vegas who's blown $20,000, maxed out ALL of his credit cards, sold his car and taken out a note against his own home, but. . . with the $20 he has left, he CAN GET IT ALL BACK!

Go home ,George. We tire of your posturing and grand-standing. America is tired of you, Texas AND Connecticut DO NOT want you back. So. . .bow out and retire to all of that South American real estate that you've purchased before we send your non-comprehending ass to some federal real estate in the state of Kansas. . .although I doubt you will heed my warning. Paying attention to the will of the public is NOT your strong suit. Frightening us is, and, congrats. . .we're now frightened of YOU. . .

You Tell Me. . .

Aaaarrrggghhhhh!!! Damned if Monday didn't occur again this week. . .oh well, at least we get to play "Make Your Own Caption" again. . .

Do you know your state capitals?

Yes, you really have to answer all 50! I had these memorized as a child; but I was shocked to get them all correct today. FYI: I completed this in under two minutes:

You are 100% Knowledgable regarding US State Capitals!

Excellent Work! Nicely Done! Thank you for taking this quiz. Be sure to check out the statehood quizzes here at gotoquiz.com!

Do You Know Your State Capitals?
Make a Quiz

Objects in mirror. . .

. . .are closer than they appear.

Wha? Pelosi Did GOOD?

AP

By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer © 2007 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Sworn in just over two weeks ago as the first female
speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi wasted no time showing who's boss.

The California Democrat rammed six major bills through the House at
breakneck speed, stomped out smoking privileges near the House floor, partially
sidelined a powerful Democratic committee chairman and decided she liked
traditionally Republican office space so much she claimed it for herself.

By Democrats' timekeeping, she did it all in far under the 100
legislative hours she had allotted."We did what we promised the American
people we would," Pelosi declared on Friday, pledging it was "just the
beginning."

Pelosi's initial agenda, completed Thursday, included measures with
wide popular support: increasing the minimum wage, broadening stem cell
research, allowing government bargaining on Medicare drug prices, cutting
student loan costs, putting in place terrorism-fighting recommendations from the
Sept. 11 commission and rolling back energy company tax breaks.
Each bill passed with bipartisan majorities and Pelosi triumphantly gaveled down the
votes, at one point banging the gavel so enthusiastically that it left a small
dent in the podium.
(snip)
....In the view of many Democrats, Pelosi's opening performance bodes well. She seemed to recover from postelection stumbles such as backing the losing candidate in the contest for House majority leader.

She also is getting a honeymoon from the public. Pelosi is held in higher regard than the president or her colleagues in the Congress. An AP-AOL News poll taken Jan. 16-18 put her approval rating at 51 percent — much higher than that of Congress (34 percent) or Bush (36 percent).
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., a close ally, called Pelosis performance "spectacular."
"What the Democrats in the caucus are telling me is that this is the best three weeks of their life," he crowed.

Compare and Contrast.

CNN Dumbasses On November 16th

Situation Room onscreen text: Is Pelosi "Damaged Goods?"
On the November 16 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer asked "how badly is [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] damaged politically?" while the question "Damaged Goods?" was displayed on screen. Blitzer was referring to an "intraparty battle" among House Democrats, in which Pelosi backed Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) to be House majority leader but Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) was ultimately elected.

I don't usually get all meta about these things, but if you just think back a few months ago (barely two), Nancy Pelosi was the WORST POSSIBLE SHRILL CATTY SHALLOW GUCCI WEARING WOMAN IN THE WORLD. Now? Not so much. hehe.


Cross Posted In My Jar

Comics Round-Up

"President Bush watched the hanging of Saddam Hussein. He said he was not pleased with how the Iraqis executed Saddam Hussein. ... The Iraqis fired back, 'Yeah? We're not pleased with the way you executed the war.'" --David Letterman



"Democrats have announced that their 2008 presidential convention will be held in Denver. You know, it's interesting that the Republicans haven't made a big deal about where their 2008 convention will be. They are keeping it very low key because they are afraid President Bush will know where it is and will show up." --Jay Leno



"President Bush has the answer to global warming. He's going to send 20,000 troops to the sun." - David Letterman



President Bush said Tuesday he thought Saddam Hussein's hanging looked like a revenge killing and said he wished the Iraqis had handled the execution better. The Iraqis are just inexperienced. None of them has ever been the Governor of Texas.- Argus Hamilton

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, January 21st

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Our Nation was founded on the belief that every human being has rights, dignity, and value. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we underscore our commitment to building a culture of life where all individuals are welcomed in life and protected in law.
(snip)

When we seek to advance science and improve our lives, we must always preserve human dignity and remember that human life is a gift from our Creator. We must not sanction the creation of life only to destroy it. America must pursue the tremendous possibilities of medicine and research and at the same time remain an ethical and compassionate society.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day is an opportunity to strengthen our resolve in creating a society where every life has meaning and our most vulnerable members are protected and defended including unborn children, the sick and dying, and persons with disabilities and birth defects. This is an ideal that appeals to the noblest and most generous instincts within us, and this is the America we will achieve by working together.

Cross Posted At Polityka, Uczeni hinduscy i Pickles.

Gas Prices

The headlines say oil prices have fallen 15 percent this year. Gas station receipts tell a different story - the cost of filling 'er up has slipped from about $35 to $33. Big deal. The cost will probably drop further, but drivers shouldn't hope for a big windfall at the pump: there's a lot more that goes into gasoline prices than the current cost of crude oil. Besides taxes and the costs of refining, distributing and marketing, there are factors such as local competition among gas stations. Just as with other forms of retail, consumers see savings when one retailer lowers its price, and the others scramble to match it. "If gasoline costs me a dollar a gallon, and my competition down the street is selling it for 89 cents, my customer doesn't care what I paid for it," said Richard Oneslager, president of Balmar Petroleum, which operates 14 gas stations in Colorado.

Okay, no bashing of the local franchisees here. I worked for a local oil company in the C-Store side of the business 20 years ago here in Fort Wayne. You locals know the Lassus name well. There really IS no profit at the local level in the oil market; it's all at the top. Anyone ever involved with managing a gas station knows that the profits are all made via the "convenience" items that people purchase alongside their fuel. Hell, I used to order my checkout candy based strictly on profit margin. My top pick? Kraft carmels; they had a 44% markup back in the day!

Crude oil prices have fallen from about $61 to $51 a barrel this year on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but the price of gasoline on the side of the road has declined more slowly. The average price for a gallon of regular is down about 13 cents from $2.33 on Jan. 1 to $2.20 on Friday, a day after crude briefly fell below $50. A typical car holds 12 to 15 gallons, so if it's filled four times in a month, that's savings of less than $8 in a month - not even enough for that daily cup of coffee.

Prices here fell hard this week. The lowest I saw was $1.89 on Thursday, but the average seems to be hovering around $1.99 today. Even diesel (MY lifeblood) was available for $2.29 tax-exempt. I'm just relieved to see prices finally returning to saner levels; and I was wondering what prices have been like in YOUR area the last few days. Be it local, other parts of Indiana, or other states, what is the lowest price you have encountered for regular unleaded gasoline?

Friday Nite Retro

Welcome once again to Friday Nite Retro! Tonight I'm indulging myself with the works of my all-time favorite song-writer and crazy son-of-a-bitch, Jim Steinman. Many will recognize that name as the creative genius behind the artist Meatloaf, but Steinman was involved in many other projects over the years. His style is sort of "rock-opera", and his style is easy to hear in all of these songs.

I skipped the obvious choices of "Two Out of Three Aint Bad" and "Paradise By the Dashboard Light", and selected one of my favorite tracks from Meatloaf's 1977 album, Bat Out of Hell (The angry man on the right is Jim Steinman):

Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth


In 1981, Steinman had a sequel to Bat Out of Hell ready to go, but Meatloaf's voice was NOT! So Steinman recorded the album "Bad For Good" himself, reaching #32 on the charts in July of that year with my all-time favorite Steinman tune. I was unable to find a decent copy of his video, so I've subbed Meat's later rendition from Bat Out of Hell II:

Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through


The following tune was also an original Steinman track from Bad For Good. Possibly the saddest song in the world. . . Again, no original video could be found, but Barbra Streisand covered it beautifully in her 1984 album "Emotion". This was Streisand's first-ever music video:

Left in the Dark Again


Everybody knows THIS one! Steinman was looking for just the right voice to pull this one off, and despite his initial reaction to Bonnie Tyler's voice ("Sounds like Rod Stewart in mid-orgasm"), the right choice was obviously made for this 80's power ballad. Steinman performs backup vocals on this one; He's the "turn around, bright eyes" voice that you hear:

Total Eclipse of the Heart


Barry Manilow covered Steinman's song "Read 'em and Weep" and carried it to the top of the adult contemporary chart in early 1984. Recurring theme tonight, no video of that available, so here's Meatloaf's version:

Read 'em and Weep


Steinman wrote this little tune for the boys in Air Supply as well:

Making Love Out of Nothing at all


Love it or hate it, this Steinman-penned tune sung by Celine Dion was a smash hit:

It's All Coming Back to Me Now


I've tried to keep this one short, believe it or not! I'm a big fan; I could write volumes about Jim Steinman. He's still keeping himself VERY busy and regularly updates his website.

Pelosi and Reid Should Allow Jim Webb to Address the Full Joint Session in His Democratic Response Next Week...

By Brad Friedman:

I don't know how long the tradition of an Opposition Party "Response" to the President's State of the Union address has been going on. But for as long as I can recall, it has been a drab, embarrassing, cringe-worthy effort by whichever party found itself unlucky enough to not be in the White House.

Over the last six years, the Bush Administration has run rough-shod over their co-equal Congressional partners, stealing extraordinary power for themselves at every turn with the short-sighted blessings of their Republican chums in the House and Senate as an all-but-castrated Democratic party stood quietly by in the background for the most part.

This year, the Dems have smartly tapped freshman Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) to deliver the Democratic response to Bush's State of the Union Address. No simpering softee he, Webb has already shown he has the stones to look Bush straight in the eye and deliver as good as he gets in the face of a classic Dubya bully-boy alpha-dog snarl.

But no matter how much clout, moral authority or gigantic balls the former Reagan Naval Secretary and proud father of a son still serving in Iraq may be, the conventional stagecraft of the SOTU and its Democratic/Republican Response simply stacks the cards insurmountably against the opposition party and -- as is likely again this year -- only serves to reinforce a perceived, if undeserved, imbalance between the two parties and the two branches of Government.

Just moments after the predictable, but rousing reception given to any President during a SOTU address -- featuring long and loud applause break after applause break and the undeniable excitement of a live speech delivered on live television to a packed and contentious house -- there is no way that a one-camera opposition party Response delivered in an all but empty room turned TV studio can ever hope to measure up to the pomp and circumstance of the President's address. That fact would be true even if Superman was selected to deliver the opposition party Response.

It's time to make a change.

And it's time for the Dems to take back just some of the White House's self-proclaimed empirical majesty in the bargain.

With the Dems newly in control of both houses of Congress and with a healthy majority of the country now clearly backing them as the best hope for America's future on virtually all fronts, and with a courageous man who knows how to kill before a live crowd, its time they push back and reclaim some of their rightful Constitutional power. Public perception being as integral to that power as almost anything else.

Controlling both the House and the Senate, the Dems can make the rules for both chambers in how the place is to be run as I understand it.
To that end, unless there is something more than merely "tradition" which I'm unaware of and which keeps them from doing so, the Dems ought to give Webb the same platform of the full joint session of Congress to deliver their party's Response to the SOTU.

Webb should deliver his address to that same jam-packed and receptive chamber on the floor of Congress as the President was granted...and which the opposition party, proudly owning majorities in both chambers of the co-equal branch of Government, now deserve to lay out their vision for the country.

As President of the Senate, Dick Cheney, of course, should be invited to keep his seat during the address behind the podium and next to the Speaker of the House. It'll be up to him if he wishes to show the appropriate respect and stay for the speech and join in for the polite applause at appropriate moments, or if he chooses to shamefully abandon his post and leave the on-camera seat empty behind Webb as he gives his address to the same pomp, circumstance and applause breaks as afforded to his co-equal Executive Branch representative just moments earlier.

For the first time in its history, the Opposition Response to the SOTU can be more than merely an embarrassing, limp, pro forma, predictable "hey, don't forget about us!" rejoinder which the TV Networks begrudgingly carry while most viewers have already changed the channel or moved on to other things. Instead, the Response can truly carry the message -- from a level playing field -- of how the Democrats envision the brave new world and their plans bettering the state of our union.

I believe all it would take is a decision by Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid to keep the joint session open after Bush's address, and for the floor to then be given to Webb to deliver the party's response to all in attendance. I hope that both will consider doing so.

The Democratic party was placed into power last November to take back America. Webb is the perfect representation of that reclamation of power. The State of the Union address gives the Dems, via Webb's response, the perfect moment to make their intentions crystal clear to the nation. But they need to give Webb the same level playing field they've graciously granted to Bush.

In doing so, the Dems may finally show what they stand for -- and that they will no longer be cowed -- instead of merely and meekly serving as bit players and extras in background support for a grand show which George W. Bush no longer deserves.

The battle for the balance of power in this country was long ago turned into a battle measured by which party is perceived by the country as "the toughest guy." The Dems finally have such a tough guy in Jim Webb. And he's ready to go. The way the Dems choose to use the golden opportunity before them will likely say as much about their ability to lead in a dangerous, threatening world as anything else. Will they now have the cajones to finally stand up to the GOP bully as embodied by George W. Bush to reclaim their equal time so long deserved? Or at least as afforded to them by the Constitution? We'll soon find out.

Brad Friedman is Creator and Editor-in-Chief of The BRAD BLOG.

Maliki plays offense

Condi Rice - "Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki's administration is on "borrowed time."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki - "Statements such as Rice's give morale boosts for the terrorists and push them toward making an extra effort and making them believe they have defeated the American administration". (SLAP!)

----------------------------------------

George Bush - "We will not engage in talks with Iran or Syria". (rattling saber)

al-Maliki - "We confirm our commitment to dialogue with Iran and Syria despite U.S. opposition to those governments". (SLAP!!)

----------------------------------------

Bush - "We will commit an additional 21,500 American troops to Iraq".

Maliki - "I think that within three to six months our need for the American troops will dramatically go down. Equip our forces so it will be possible to withdraw the Multinational forces from cities, or withdraw 50,000 soldiers from Iraq." (GET OUT!)

----------------------------------------

I'm starting to like this guy. . .

South Bend Tribune...Wrong, Wrong, WRONG!!!! (Part Deux)

Yesterday I had a total hissy fit!! Over and over in the South Bend Tribune print and online editions you see junk like this.....

State of the State: Daniels makes appeal to Demos

Hmmm, seems to be something wrong with that sentence.....

So, I checked dictionary.com and came up with this:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -
dem·o /ˈdɛmoʊ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dem-oh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun, plural dem·os. Informal.
1. demonstration (defs. 4,6).
2. demonstrator (def. 5).
3. a phonograph record or tape recording of a new song or of one performed by an unknown singer or singing group, distributed to disc jockeys, recording companies, etc., to demonstrate the merits of the song or performer.

and this......

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -
Dem /dɛm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dem] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation–noun Informal.
1. a member of the Democratic party.
2. the Dems, the Democratic party.

Well, I have to admit that I went a little crazy. I emailed a friend of mine who is a reporter in DC to have him check his AP Stylebook (reporters bible for guidelines in things like this) and after a bit, he let me know that Demo is an archaic diminutive for Democrat that has not been used in many years, and that DEM is the one cited in the AP Stylebook. (there is an AP Stylebook online, but it is paid subscription)

I would like to credit Fred Dodd at the South Bend Tribune for looking into this (after an admittedly semi-pissed off voice mail from me) and calling a meeting with his copy editors. They discussed it, and agreed that DEMO is not the correct diminutive to use, and from now on their policy will be to use DEM.

Now, you might be wondering why I got all hopped up about this, and I will tell you.
For YEARS, the strategists on the right have been using words to try and pigeonhole Democrats, Progressives & Liberals. They say "Democrat Party" when it should be "Democratic Party". (One reason given for this is to emphasize democRAT) They say "Looney Left, Looney Liberals" and all that other garbage. In my humble opinion and many others I have asked, DEMO sounds really close to DUMBO or DUMMO.
I am very impressed that Mr Dodd and his editors took the time to correct something that they could have very easily ignored. (well, not really, but they didn't know what a pain in the ass I could be)

Looking forward to the first Tribune headline using the correct term, DEM!!!!


Cross-Posted In My Jar

The REAL reason for Iraq. . .

. . .finally comes to light. It's what most of us knew it to be all along: The acronym for this "war" was intentionally "spot on". . .Operation Iraqi Liberation or OIL. . .

Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days.

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.

This law will allow Western oil companies to pocket up to three-quarters of Iraqi oil profits
through "production-sharing agreements" (or PSAs) which are highly unusual in the Middle East, where the oil industry is generally state-controlled as is the case in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's two largest producers. Iraq, where oil accounts for 95 per cent of the economy, is being forced to surrender an unacceptable degree of sovereignty.

Americans, at least those of us who are not in the upper classes or are members of the corporatist society, have paid for this endeavour through their income taxes and, in over 3,000 cases, with their very lives. This legislation will allow these corporations to step in and earn huge profits from the hostile takeover of this sovereign nation, while the rest of us have paid the cost. What an excellent investment for Haliburton, Exxon, BP, et al! No outlay of capital, no risk. . .just sit back and rake it in.

Proposing the parliamentary motion for war in 2003, Tony Blair denied the "false claim" that "we want to seize" Iraq's oil revenues. He said the money should be put into a trust fund, run by the UN, for the Iraqis, but the idea came to nothing. The same year Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, said: "It cost a great deal of money to prosecute this war. But the oil of the Iraqi people belongs to the Iraqi people; it is their wealth, it will be used for their benefit. So we did not do it for oil."

This is why George W. Bush refuses to accept any alternative to "success" in Iraq. Nothing that will jeopardize corporate oil profits can be allowed to occur, at any cost. This neo-con wet-dream of massive profits and corporate control of an oil-rich foreign nation, paid for with the blood and tax revenues of average Americans, is nirvana for these guys. And there is NOTHING they will stop at to achieve it. . .

More on this story here. . .

Wanted!

Crap. . .they're onto me. . .thanks for the tip, Kvatch. . .

Message to new Dems:

Thanks, Paddy! Blogger IS being a pain tonight, but here tis!

iDiot

Any questions?

Children - The fun starts here

Mothers of teens know why some animals eat their young.

Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

Children: You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut-up.

Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids.

I love to give homemade gifts. Which one of my kids do you want?

Children are natural mimics who act like their parents, despite very effort to teach them good manners.

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the drive before it has stopped snowing.

"There is only one pretty child in the world... and every mother has it." - Chinese Proverb.

Children will soon forget your presents. They will always remember your presence.

The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your kids.

"Who are these kids and why are they calling me Dad?"

You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can never fool mum.

A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school clothes.

Anyone who says "Easy as taking candy from a baby" has never tried it.

The best inheritance parents can give their children is a few minutes of their time each day.

ITMFA

Go visit Chuck! (Click the image below to do so) ITMFA !

In memory. . .

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

You tell me

Good Monday morning to you! Here's this week's make your own caption photo:

Next time. . .

I want to live my next life backwards

You start out dead and get that out of the way.

Then you wake up in an old age home feeling better every day.

Then you get kicked out for being too healthy.

Enjoy your retirement and collect your pension.

Then when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day.

You work 40 years until you're too young to work.

You get ready for High School: drink alcohol, party, and you're generally promiscuous.

Then you go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, and you have no responsibilities.

Then you become a baby, and then...

You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-like conditions - central heating, room service on tap, and then...

You finish off as an orgasm.

I rest my case.

Republicans bolting GOP

House Republican leaders, who confidently predicted they would drive a wedge through the new Democratic majority, have found their own party splintering:

Freed from majority pressures and the bull whip of Tom DeLay , and increasingly mindful of shifting voter sentiment, many back-bench Republicans are showing their moderation and have sided with Democrats in droves on the House's opening legislative blitz. Indeed, last week's closest vote, to require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare, pulled 24 Republicans. The Democrats' homeland security bill attracted 68 Republicans, the minimum wage increase 82.

• "You're freer to vote your conscience," said Rep. Jo Anne Emerson (R-Mo.), who received an 88 percent voting record from the American Conservative Union in 2005 but has so far sided with Democrats on new budget rules, Medicare prescription-drug negotiations, raising the minimum wage and funding stem cell research. "Or, really, I feel free to represent my constituents exactly as they want me to be."

• "Times have changed. I don't want to be someone who they say is too stubborn to change too," said Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), whose 92 percent conservative rating did not stop him from voting with Democrats on the homeland security and minimum-wage bills.

After having their asses handed to them last November, House Republicans threatened to draft procedural motions and parliamentary gambits to split the new majority. With so many new Democrats hailing from moderate-to-conservative districts, this was a plausible idea. And they attempted these strategies:

• Republicans spoke out strongly against Democratic measures over the past two weeks, saying new deficit-control rules would guarantee tax increases, stringent homeland security measures would cripple commerce, and a minimum-wage increase would hurt the economy.

• To counter the prescription-drug bill, GOP leaders drafted a parliamentary move that they said would ensure senior citizens' access to local pharmacists and the full panoply of prescription drugs. They tried to beat back the stem cell bill with a popular alternative, a ban on federal funds for human cloning. And they countered the minimum-wage bill with a motion to send it back to be redrafted to include tax breaks and health-insurance benefits for small businesses. On the minimum-wage bill, Republican leadership aides even offered a list of 25 Democrats they could pull over to their side.

The results? Eighty-two Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic front to vote to increase the minimum wage, while 54 Republicans voted against their leadership's counteroffer. Eighteen Republicans defied their leadership by opposing the parliamentary move against stem cells.

The homeland security bill -- designed to implement most of the remaining recommendations of the commission that examined the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- even garnered the vote of Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), who as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee last year, thwarted one of its central provisions, the screening of all shipping containers heading to U.S. ports.

Several Republicans, including Todd R. Platts (Pa.) and Jim Ramstad (Minn.), sided with the Democrats on every major vote. But these cross overs weren't limited just to these closet mavericks:

• Rep. Deborah Pryce (Ohio) was a powerful member of the Republican leadership, responsible for uniting her fractious colleagues behind a single message. After narrowly escaping defeat in November, the swing-district Republican bolted from her party's leadership last year. Last week, she virtually bolted from the party. With but a sole exception, she sided with the new Democratic majority on every major bill and rule change that came to a vote in the past two weeks, even voting against her party on a procedural vote, a move considered heretical in the years of GOP control.

• The Democrats "deserve the same credit that we got in 1995," when Republicans took control, said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). "They've picked up on the really big issues of the day, the ones they won the election on, and the ones that really resonate in Republican districts."

Although they were always counting on GOP votes, even the Democratic leadership has been surprised by their margins of victory. Republicans from swing districts who have been beat up for years over their party-line voting have finally been liberated by their minority status.

The Republicans, natch, quickly dismissed the significance of this winning streak, however. The Democrats' opening legislative blitz IS being conducted under parliamentary rules that run roughshod over the Republicans, and foreclose on any chance for amendments. How's that feel, guys? Relax, once the 100-hours agenda runs its course next week, you'll be given more latitude. Furthermore, we're burning through all of the most important legislation very quickly.

Read the next quote carefully:

• "Republican discipline was critically important when we were passing legislation and moving an agenda," House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said. "The Democrats will soon move from these issues that poll at 80, 90 percent to issues that really matter."

See? They still don't get it! Issues that poll at 80-90 percent most certainly DO matter. . .at least to the people you work for, the people who sent you a strong message last November, the people who are still trying to send you messages on Iraq, the American people. . .heed our words or prepare to be kicked out of the sandbox!

Hell explained by chemistry student

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term.

The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately a s souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has alreadyfrozen over.. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is, therefore,extinct ... leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh, my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"

Disney vs Spocko update

More on the Disney-Spocko battle we posted about last week. Click the image below for the latest from Mike Stark:

Friday Nite Retro

I'm going to warn you in advance, this is a very long Friday Nite Retro. As it turns out, that is quite befitting of the artist I chose to profile this evening, Paul Carrack. I knew Paul was in several bands but I had no idea how extensive his work has been.

His career began as the keyboard player for Warm Dust (1970-72). When they broke up, he and Warm Dust bassist Tex Comer formed a band called "Ace". Carrack wrote and performed the band's debut single. The song, "How Long", turned out to be a one-hit-wonder:

Ace - "How Long"


After Ace disbanded in 1977, Paul did session work with Roxy Music and Franki Miller. In 1981, Glen Tilbrook recruited Paul for Squeeze's "West Side Story" album. Paul sang lead on this hit from that album:

Squeeze - "Tempted"


Paul was one busy musician in the 1980's, jumping around from band to band and doing session work for numerous others including The Smiths, The Pretenders,Nick Lowe and John Hiatt. But he still managed to get out some decent solo efforts as well, such as this personal favorite of mine:

Paul Carrack - "I Need You"


In 1985 Mike Rutherford of Genesis asked Paul to join his new band "Mike & the Mechanics". He was one of two alternating lead vocalist for the group, and sang lead on this hit:

Mike & The Mechanics - "Silent Running"


During the late 80's, Paul was also worked with Roger Waters and Berlin as well as returning to sing M&tM's second hit "Living Years". In the middle of all of that he cranked out another solo album, which featured this tune:

Paul Carrack - "Don't Shed a Tear"

In 1990, Carrack was recruited to perform in the groundbreaking live stage show of The Wall in Berlin by Roger Waters. He performed "Hey You" to the crowd of 250,000. He briefly reunited with Squeeze in 1993, and re-recorded "Tempted". His next project was doomed to fail however. . .he teamed up with Timothy B. Schmit and Don Felder of The Eagles for an ambitious but ultimately unrealized recording project. They reformed The Eagles before an album could be completed.

However, they took with them one of the songs that Paul had penned, recorded it with The Eagles and took it straight up the charts. That song won an award as being the most-played single in America in 1995. It was also Jody and I's first dance as a married couple at our wedding reception on June 3rd of that same year:

The Eagles - "Love Will Keep Us Alive"

Paul maintains his active solo career, as well as his career as a session musician. He also became Mike + The Mechanics only lead vocalist after the death of Paul Young in 2000. In 2004 the band was officially re-named Mike + The Mechanics & Paul Carrack.

Discography

Paul's biggest solo hit, "Don't Shed A Tear," came after he signed as a solo artist to Chrysalis Records in 1987 .

Solo Albums

• 1980 Nightbird
• 1982 Suburban Voodoo
• 1987 One Good Reason
• 1989 Groove Approved
• 1996 Blue Views
• 1997 Beautiful World
• 2000 Satisfy My Soul
• 2001 Groovin'
• 2003 It Ain't Over
• 2005 Winter Wonderland

Compilations

• 1987 Ace Mechanic
• 1988 The Carrack Collection
• 1994 Twenty-One Good Reasons: The Paul Carrack Collection
• 1995 Carrackter Reference
• 2006 Greatest Hits - The Story So Far

Solo Hit Singles

• "I Need You" (US #37, 1982)
• "When You Walk in the Room" (UK #48, 1987)
• "Don't Shed A Tear" (US #9/UK #60, 1987)
• "One Good Reason (US #28, 1988)
• "I Live By The Groove" (US #31, 1989)
• "Eyes of Blue" (UK #40, 1996)
• "How Long" (UK #32, 1996)
• "For Once In Our Lives" (US #72, 1997)

Ace Hit Singles

• "How Long" (US #3/UK #20 1975)

Squeeze Hit Singles (with Carrack on lead vocal)

• "Tempted" (US #49/UK #41, 1981)

Mike + The Mechanics Hit Singles (with Carrack on lead vocal)

• "Silent Running" (US #21/UK #6, 1985)
• "The Living Years" (US #1/UK #2, 1989)
• "Over My Shoulder" (UK #12, 1995)
• "Now That You've Gone" (UK #35, 1999)

Role Play

Major hat-tip to Andrew Kaduk for this one:



We've had our differences, but I've gained some real respect for the guy. Not enough respect to play any role-playing games (I'm just sayin'!), but. . .lol. Job well done. Still looking forward to having that beer. . .

Kid Logic

What, you ask, is "Butt dust?" Read on and you'll discover the joy in it!These have to be original and genuine. No adult is this creative!!

JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom breast-feeding his new baby sister. Aftera while he asked: "Mom why have you got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?"

MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was soold she didn't remember any more. Melanie said, "If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six."

STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom good night. "I love you so much that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window."

BRITTANY (age 4) had an earache and wanted a pain killer. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a child-proof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?"

SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she said, "It makes my teeth cough."

DJ (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "How much do I cost?"

MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple that were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked hisdad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?"

CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?"

JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but hiswife looked back and was turned to salt." Concerned, James asked: "What happened to the flea?"

TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for a while and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?"

The Sermon I think this Mom will never forget.... this particular Sunday sermon..."Dear Lord," the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. "Without you, we are butdust..." He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four year old girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"

Surge Protector

Sumo, thank you for this one! You find the best cartoon editorials available!

Troop Escalation Has Already Started

Lookie here.... shiny objects.... Ooooh, President will talk to us!!!


Don't look over HERE.

Troop Surge Already Under Way

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 10, 2007— President Bush's speech may be scheduled for tonight, but the troop surge in Iraq is already under way.

ABC News has learned that the "surge" Bush is expected to announce in a prime time speech tonight has already begun. Ninety advance troops from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Baghdad today.

An additional battalion of roughly 100 troops from the same division are expected to arrive in Baghdad Thursday.

It is the first small wave of troops in a new White House strategy that is expected to put more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq and likely require new call-ups of the National Guard.

Roh No! Iwao Takamoto dies at 81.

Iwao Takamoto, the creator of Scooby-Doo and several other cartoon classics has departed for that great sketchpad in the sky. Mr.Takamoto died Monday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,according to Warner Brothers spokesman Gary Miereanu.

In his lengthy six-decade career, Takamoto helped design some of Disney and Hanna-Barbera'so biggest animated features and television shows, including "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp," "101 Dalmatians," "The Jetsons" and "The Flintstones."

But it was his creation of Scooby-Doo, the cowardly dog with an adventurous heart, that captivated audiences and has endured for generations. Indeed, Scooby was my favorite cartoon when I was a child, and is my daughter's favorite today.


Takamoto said he created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder and named him after Frank Sinatra 's final phrase in "Strangers in the Night."

The breeder "showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such," Takamoto said in a recent talk at Cartoon Network Studios. So, of course, "I decided to go the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong."

Takamoto was also the talent behind famous cartoon dogs such as Astro from "The Jetsons" and Muttley, the mixed-breed that appeared in several Hanna-Barbera animations. He directed the 1973 feature "Charlotte's Web",as well.

The animator was born in Los Angeles to Japanese immigrants, and had just graduated high school when World War II began. He and his family were sent to the Manzanar internment camp in the California desert, where he learned the art of illustration from fellow internees. This instruction served him well. Upon his return to LA, he landed an interview with Walt Disney Studios and was hired as an apprentice. Takamoto worked with Disney's famous "nine old men" team of animators before moving to Hanna-Barbera Studios in 1961. There he worked on cartoons for television, including "Josie and the Pussy Cats," "The Great Grape Ape Show," "Harlem Globe Trotters" and "The Secret Squirrel Show."

The Scooby-Doo theme song from 1969:


And the updated 1970 version:

Tucker Carlson Gets Blogger Fired For Blogging About Tucker!!

Apparently, the fTucker has learned how to google, and he's not too happy.
I know, I know. But I don't have a job that Tucker can get me fired from,
so maybe he could come visit and shake his finger in my face for this diary,
or even for this one?

His Bowtie Knows Where You Sleep...err...Work

The wingnut wankjob I mentioned in the formerly removed post, Tucker Carlson, has threatened the video store where I now formerly worked with legal action and as a result, I no longer work there. I do not have access to these threats but I can imagine that they consist of something similar to this:

"I'm easily the most recognizable conservative pundit today, as my wikipedia page will attest, but goddam it, I deserve to be recognized only if I stand to benefit from it! I am a huge asshole and I expect to be treated like one. I will fucking destroy anyone who dares to poke fun at me and so help me god my bowtie is stylish and not at all funny! I can't believe that I might be subject to ridicule after I physically threatened another man with destruction because he mentioned me on his blog!(This part is absolutely true.)

Freelance Genius is really funny!! I'm not going to cut and paste all of it, but go bump up his hit counter and read the rest. Worth the guffaw.
Anyone who had to put up with this

Tucker: If you keep this shit up, I will fucking destroy you.
The Genius (Me): Whoah, perhaps you would like to take this outside where you can continue threatening me without disturbing the other customers.
Tucker: *Looks out the window, then back at me* I am not threatening you.
The Genius: You just said you would fucking destroy me.
Tucker: No, I didn't.

Deserves our admiration.

************************Updated note***********************

You figure fTucker put the screw on this poor guy at the video store trying to downplay any bad "press" about him. This is going around now and making 10 times as much bad play for him. Sorry, fTucker you f**ked up.

Heaven's Door

I was shocked, confused, bewildered as I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all, by the lights or it's decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven who made me sputter and gasp--
the thieves, the liars, the sinners, the alcoholics, the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought was rotting away in hell,
was sitting pretty on cloud nine, looking incredibly well.

I nudged the angel, "What's the deal? I would love to hear your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here? God must've made a mistake.

And why's everyone so quiet, so somber? Give me a clue."

"Hush, child," said he. "They're all in shock. No one thought they'd see you."

Vulcan versus Mouse

While perusing one of my favorite blogs this evening, Blognonymous, I read a post by Kvatch regarding Spocko's Brain. I've seen the editor of this weblog, Spocko, in the comments sections of many blogs but hadn't gotten around to visiting his site. Perhaps now I never will. . .

Spocko's blog is (was?) one of several fine San Francisco Bay Area blogs, a few of which can be found in my blogroll. It seems that Mr.Spock was offended by the angry rhetoric of several right-wing radio personalities on the local ABC-affiliated talk-radio station, KSFO 560 AM. I assume it is comparable to our own local pukefunnel here in Fort Wayne, although from what I've read this evening, it sounds far worse. . .To quote Kvatch, KSFO "has some of the most offensive on-air personalities in the Bay Area--a little like Limbaugh only half as articulate and twice as offensive".

Rather than call in and complain to the station (pointless), Spocko decided to hit 'em where it would hurt them the most. He made mp3 recordings of the vulgarities spewed by these personalities on air, as well as audio of these same personalities doing commercials for sponsors, often right after they'd finished saying the aforementioned vulgarities! He then not only blogged about this, including the audio he had snagged, but contacted major sponsors of the shows on which the attrocities had aired, including Netflix, Mastercard, and Bank of America, to alert them to how their brands were being presented.

Many of these sponsors pulled their advertising from KSFO. . .little guy makes a difference! Hoorah! But, sadly, the story does not end on that happy note. . .KSFO's parent company Disney/ABC, after losing these sponsors, demanded that Spocko pull the audio clips he had posted on his blog, even though they were posted under the guidelines of "fair use". When Spocko refused, they complained to his his ISP, 1&1, who caved in to them and cancelled his service.

Spocko is staying in communication with everyone via this site. You can read the full details of his story there, and I encourage you to do so. In addition, a support blog has been set up on his behalf: Kiss Off KSFO. Here is a sample of one of the letters that Spocko sent out to advertisers:

Wendy Clark,VP-advertising, AT&T

Dear Ms. Clark:

Thanks to radio hosts from KSFO your brand is being associated with torturing and killing people. Would your marketing people be happy to hear your commercial ran after Lee Rogers said this about a black man in Lincoln , Nebraska ?

"Now you start with the Sear's Diehard the battery cables connected to his testi*les and you entertain him with that for awhile and then you blow his bleeping head off."

(Audio link 2:30 total for context. Comment at 2:03 )


You should know the person calling for the execution and torture of the black man in that clip READS THE AT&T commercials on the air. Right now on KSFO Lee Rogers is THE VOICE of AT&T to the SF Bay area. (Audio Link from 11/16/2006 )

Sadly, calling for the death and torture of individuals and groups of people is a regular occurrence on KSFO 560 AM, owned by ABC Radio Disney.

Another example: immediately after the 6 am ABC Radio news on October 27th:

Lee Rogers: I say they catch the person, tie 'em to a post and burn 'em. Set 'em on fire.

"Officer Vic": Yeah.

Lee Rogers: Let 'em know what it feels like.

Melanie Morgan: Hog tie 'em first. That would be good.

Next, Lee Rogers talks about a protester at a Cindy Sheehan event:

"Whoever did that should have been stomped to death right there. Just stomp their bleeping guts out."
(Audio link 4 minutes total).

Within three minutes they called for someone to be burned alive and a protester to be stomped to death. If you dismissed the first clip as a "joke", note that in this clip they were clearly not joking

Melanie Morgan famously called for Bill Keller of the New York Times (and nine editors from other papers) to be hanged. (Audio link)

On Nov. 14th Melanie Morgan said this about Nancy Pelosi:

"We've got a bulls-eye painted on her big laughing eyes." (Audio)
Also note that Morgan reads the Cingular Wireless commercials on KSFO.

Of course political speech is protected, but I believe the FBI and the FCC frown on targeting elected officials for death or inciting violence toward leaders of any political party.

Because of how ads are purchased, your ad placement agency probably didn't know that Tom Brenner (the "comic relief" called Officer Vic) regularly mocks advertiser's products. Listen as he:

* calls Chevrolet's product "shi**y" (link)
* suggests an anti-virus product is part of a protection racket (link)
* pretends a cold pill is really a suppository (link)

The odds are your product will be mocked. If they don't respect a big client like Chevrolet, will they respect your brand?

And it's not simply calls for killing specific people or mocking products, the radio hosts at KSFO proudly talk about their anti-Muslim views. Based on my research, your business has rules about discrimination against people of other religions, so what message are you sending when your employees or customers hear your advertisements right after Brian Sussman demands of a caller:

"Say Allah is a Wh*re!" (audio)

Or when Lee Rogers says,

"Indonesia is really just another enemy Muslim nation. ... You keep screwing around with stuff like this we are going to kill a bunch of you. Millions of you." (audio)

Maybe you haven't heard any complaints. Would KSFO management let you know about complaints? Doubtful. Morgan's husband, Jack Swanson, is KSFO's operations manager. The president of KSFO, Mickey Luckoff, started the station format and has a history of defending hosts like Michael Savage until he was forced to fire him.

I understand you can't listen to all the shows you advertise on, no one can. You rely on the accurate representation of the sales reps and the show description. But you don’t need to take my word, listen to the programs. You probably won't have to listen long to hear something that offends or disgusts you. If you wish to hear the complete context on any clip or the audio during a date your ad ran contact me I have an educational archive of audio clips, I've listed a few below.

I want to emphasize that if you withdrawal your ads you aren't limiting their free speech, just removing your paid support of it. Some other company without the values you describe on the AT&T website can support them. You can choose to advertise elsewhere. This is really about YOU. Do YOU want to be associated with these comments? Do you want your company and brand to be associated with these comments?

I urge you to discontinue advertising on KSFO during the shows hosted by Melanie Morgan, Lee Rogers, Tom Brenner and Brian Sussman.

If you want to contact KSFO here is a link to their website. If you wish to express your displeasure to their parent company contact Zenia Mucha, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, The Walt Disney Company PHONE: (818) 560-5300 CA, (212) 456-7255 NY or email Heather Rim, Vice President, Communications, ABC, Inc. heather.rim@abc.com.

Sincerely,


P.S. I would appreciate hearing your final determination in this matter.

Corporate Issues
Michael Coe,

Corporate Citizenship
Eric Hausken

Human Resources

Karen Jennings, senior executive vice president of human resources

*Editor's note: Spocko has found a new home and is now included in my blogroll here!

You tell me!

Welcome once again to Monday morning ( I KNOW, my butt's draggin' the floor as well!) and yet another edition of "Make Yer Own Caption"! This one's dedicated to environmental responsibility, and my hero Al Gore:



Amaze me with your liberal wit!

"It's My Box in a Box"

Last month I ran across a hilarious video feature from Justin Timberlake and the SNL gang (Thanks, Mags!) . This evening I ran across a video response to that creative effort:

That Toddlin Town

A funny thing happened on the way to Wisconsin. . .Oh wait, have you heard this one before? Most likely not, so allow me to continue. Anyone who's done any regular travel from Indiana to Wisconsin knows full well the feeling of dread the mention of Chicago conjures up. The approximately 50 mile stretch from Gary to Elgin looks oh-so-easy in the road atlas: Hell, it's all interstate highway, and you have three route choices!

Unfortunately though, usually just about the time you're feeling stoked due to the fact that traffic is moving along at 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, you round a curve or top a hill and. . .

. . .SLAM ON YOUR BRAKES as you drop from 70 to 0 just in time to avoid running into what appears to be the world's largest used car lot which has just emerged in your path! If you're lucky, you'll get a trickle of movement and get through in 60-90 minutes. 90 minutes is the worst I've ever personally endured, but that may actually have been worse. . .*I* took an exit and went "cross-town". It gave me an entirely new perspective on the movie "The Blues Brothers". That's a tale for another day, and I strongly discourage you from attempting this from the south side!

A couple of times I have taken the "avoidance route": that's where you puss out and take I-80 to I-39, adding 100 miles to your trip and while not saving any time, avoid a trip to the dentist to replace the crowns you've ground off while stuck in the gridlock. Being somewhat adventurous, I even returned home via the UP of Michigan, once. That too, is a tale for another day! There's also a ferry that operates across Lake Michigan. But that's not even really an option due to price and time involved.

All in all, we usually average about a 5 1/2 hour drive, door to door. Your results may vary. But here's the alternative punchline to the "joke" I started this post with: We left Fort Wayne on Saturday morning at 8:20 AM, and arrived in our Wisconsin destination at 12:10 PM. This in spite of some meds that Princess Running Water, err. . I mean, my wife, is currently on. UNDER FOUR HOURS. . .a record for us!

I only made one adjustment to our course, the real time-saver was the complete lack of congestion and construction in Chicagoland! Everybody has their favorite route; I prefer the "Skyway Option". I normally take US 30 to I-65 N at Merrillville to the Skyway and straight through downtown. This time I jumped SR 49 N at Valpo to the Toll Road (Yes, the attendant DID have an Australian accent. .I'm kidding?)rather than continuing forward to Merrillville.

NO construction and LIGHT traffic. I stayed in the middle of the pack and averaged 75 mph all the way through Chi-Town, with only one incident. I tend to migrate to the left and center (and express when available) lanes as they are mainly full of through traffic and often move a bit faster. I was in the left lane on the Kennedy, north of downtown and a ways before O'Hare, when I realized that all lanes ahead and to my right were clear except for the left one that I was traveling in! I had a split second to check my right mirror and swerve hard-right to miss four vehicles at a dead-stop in my lane. From the quick look that I had while reacting to the situation, a small white car was stopped in that lane with it's hood whipped back into it's windshield and three cars were stopped just behind it. I didn't see any signs of collision, although time allowed me but a brief once-over as I whipped around them by what looked like mere inches.

I had just come through a tunnel and around a curve when I happened upon this. I don't know if the lead vehicle had just suffered from a hood blow-back and hadn't had time to move to the shoulder, or if some other undetermined incident had occurred. I'm just glad that nobody was in the lane to my right. Faced with a choice of rear-ending four immobile vehicles at highway speed or "bumping" another moving vehicle, I obviously would have swerved right either way. . .

Anyways, my wife got her color back eventually, my nephew had slept long enough already, and my daughters wanted me to "Do it again, Dad!". . .the rest of the trip was quick and uneventful. I was dreading the journey home, figuring that karma was going to repay me but, although the traffic was heavier, we made it back home in just over four hours. . . Still time to blog about it! ;)That's my story and I'm sticking to it; but I gotta slip into "Dad mode" before I go and add a few thoughts:

- We put new tires and brakes on this van last fall. That could have made the difference on our close call yesterday. Maintain your vehicle and inspect it regularly. It's only a pain in the ass until it becomes a habit.

- Make sure that you don't have a bunch of unsecured objects in your car. Keep in mind that if you come to a sudden stop at 70 mph, anything not tied down or strapped in will still be going 70 mph. If that object is a person, they will likely be killed upon impact with whatever is is their path. If that object is non-animated, it may hit you at 70 mph! Carefully consider how you load your vehicle, and don't forget that your pets may also become projectiles during sudden stops.

- Buckle up! I really am a hypocrite on this one, but do it anyway. Worst case, you may suffer some bad abdominal injuries from the belt or be decapitated if in a convertible. . .I'm KIDDING! (About the injuries, not my hypocrisy; buckle up.)

Okay. . .enough travel advice from yours truly! I DO want to take a moment and thank the band, though. . .Stan and Paddy, aka "Team Ska", I truly appreciate you keeping this bandwith filled in my absence! Thanks, Team!

Over 1000 Protesters Form "IMPEACH" On S F Beach

This really could work into a thing. Think about it. What if all the people who owned farms started cutting their crops into "IMPEACH" designs? People whose homes' roofs are visible to airports or other mass transit? Or even a sign between two windows in an apartment in a big city?

Protestors Join In S.F. To Impeach BushOver 1,000 Join Beach Bash
By: Noel Cisneros
Jan. 6 - KGO - To voice their displeasure with the current administration, hundreds of people lined up on Ocean Beach Saturday morning to call for the impeachment of President Bush.

Over one thousand protestors decided to make a stand - by lying down.

Protestor: "I'd like to see him impeached for every crime he's committed since he was appointed to his office."

Fingers up - heads down - they lined Ocean Beach, to form the word impeach -- exclamation point included.

Dan Brook, Protestor: "Every great idea starts with people -- it has to start with people or it will never happen -- so it has to start with us."

ABC7's Noel Cisneros: "Do you think the country has the stomach for another impeachment?"

Dan Brook: "I think we don't have the stomach for another two years of Bush."

The "Impeach on the Beach" project is the brain child of Brad Newsham -- who got the idea from looking at Google satellite images with his daughter.

Brad Newsham, Event Organizer: "I hope we send a message of what a great country we have, and what horrible leadership we have, and we hope the message gets back to Washington -- and impeachment gets put back onto the table where the American people want it to be."

ABC7 Legal Analyst Dean Johnson: "You can't impeach a president for incompetence."

Dean Johnson is a former prosecutor and he says the strongest legal case against Mr. Bush would likely be for the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretaps of millions of American telephone calls.

The Ultimate Pickles.....

Though she reportedly played a bit in the 1937 version of A Star Is Born, actress Joan Shawlee's first confirmed professional work was as a model, singer, and nightclub performer. While appearing in New York, Shawlee was discovered by comedian Lou Costello, who put her under personal contract. She was billed as Joan Fulton in her first appearance with Abbott and Costello in the 1947 film Buck Privates Come Home. She reverted to "Shawlee" once she'd gained a reputation as a wisecracking, gum-chewing comedienne, a reputation enhanced by her many appearances on the popular TV sitcom The Abbott and Costello Show. Her films ranged from trash like Prehistoric Women (1950) to treasures like From Here to Eternity. Her best screen role was as dictatorial bandleader Sweet Sue in the Billy Wilder classic Some Like It Hot (1959); Wilder would cast Shawlee in choice supporting roles in his later films, The Apartment (1960), Irma La Douce (1963), and Buddy Buddy (1981). Outside of her work on Abbott and Costello's various television ventures, Joan Shawlee's TV career included regular roles on such series as The Betty Hutton Show, McHale's Navy, The Dick Van Dyke Show (as Morey Amsterdam's wife Pickles), and The Feather and Father Gang.

That's it for the Pickles kids, I think I may have had my fill.

Israel plans nuclear attack on Iran

Apparently Israel is planing a nuclear attan on Iran!
I'm not quite sure it will happen; and now that it has been made public, I'm pretty sure it won't happen any time soon. Maybe this was put out to put the fear of Allah in the Iranian government.

ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels”
into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike
and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the
sources.

See the entire article at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2535310,00.html

Have I got pickles.....

The History of Pickles

The history of pickles stretches so far back into antiquity that no definite time has been established for their origin, but they are estimated to be over 4,000 years old.

In 2,030 BC, cucumbers native to India were brought to the Tigris Valley. There, they were first preserved and eaten as pickles.

Cucumbers are mentioned at least twice in the Bible (Numbers 11:5 and Isaiah 1:8) and history records their usage over 3,000 years ago in Western Asia, ancient Egypt and Greece.

In 850 B.C., Aristotle praised the healing effects of cured cucumbers.

Cleopatra attributed a portion of her beauty to pickles -- though we're not sure which portion.

Pliny's writings mention spiced and preserved cucumbers; in other words, pickles.

The Roman Emperor Tiberius consumed pickles on a daily basis.

Julius Caesar thought pickles had an invigorating effect, so, naturally, he shared them with his legions.

The enjoyment of pickles spread far and wide through Europe. In the thirteenth century, pickles were served as a main dish at the famous Feast of King John.

Pickles were brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus, who is known to have grown them on the island of Haiti.

In the sixteenth century, Dutch fine food fanciers cultivated pickles as one of their prized delicacies.

Cartier found cucumbers growing in Canada in 1535, and they were known to the colonists of Virginia as early as 1609.

Queen Elizabeth liked pickles. And Napoleon valued pickles as a health asset for his armies.

Samuel Pepy's diary mentions a glass of Girkins as something to be highly appreciated.

In 1659, Dutch farmers in New York grew cucumbers in what is now Brooklyn. These cukes were sold to dealers who cured them in barrels and sold them from market stalls on Washington, Canal and Fulton Streets. As it turns out, these pickle purveyors started the nation's commercial pickle industry.

A fondness for pickles has always been a national characteristic of the American people (as well as Polish people and Polish Americans). It's a good thing, since our country's namesake, Amerigo Vespucci, was actually a pickle peddler in Seville, Spain. He supplied ships with pickled vegetables to prevent sailors from getting scurvy on long voyages. While Columbus is credited with discovering America, Vespucci was apparently a better PR man. We're named for him. We became the United States of America -- instead of the United States of Vespucci. And that's probably a good thing, too.

George Washington was a pickle enthusiast. So were John Adams and Dolly Madison.

Pickles inspired Thomas Jefferson to write the following:
"On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally's cellar."
We're still trying to track down Aunt Sally's recipe.

In colonial America, the pickle patch was an important adjunct to good living. Pickles were highly regarded by all of America's pioneering generations because, under frontier conditions, pickles were the only zesty, juicy, green, succulent food available for many months of the year.

In colonial times, and, much later, on farms and in villages, homemakers expected to "put down" some pickles in stone crocks, and to "put up" some pickles and pickle relishes in glass jars.

In 1820, Frenchman Nicholas Appert was the first person to commercially pack pickles in jars.

1926, however, stands as perhaps the most momentous date in pickle history. You see, in that year, the Mt. Olive Pickle Company was founded.

Damn, even I learned something!!!
I thought it was just good to be Polish & love your pickles!!!

Pickles, Pickles & More Pickles

is #1 on the poll!!

So here ya go!!!

U.S. House Digest Blog

Very cool new site-

A moderately detailed account of the on-goings of the People’s House.
Because you shouldn’t have to be a scholar to figure out what your government is doing.

U. S. House Digest

Happy Hoosier Saturday!!

Stan's funny pics

In honor of John's absence, I have created a website to share some of my interesting photos.

I hope you enjoy them!

Click here

Incoming Judiciary Chairman Leahy Targets Corruption

Paging Harry Truman........

Then

As a U.S. senator in 1941, Truman drove thousands of miles around the country going from one defense plant to another documenting waste and fraud. He then headed the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program -- the Truman committee, for short. The process saved American taxpayers $15 billion (in 1940s dollars). And by uncovering faulty military equipment, he prevented the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of U.S. soldiers.


And Now....

Incoming Judiciary Chairman Leahy Targets Corruption
In First Bills Of 110th Congress

Leahy Introduces Bills To Combat War Profiteering, Public Corruption

WASHINGTON (Thursday, January 4) – Signaling a renewed emphasis on combating corruption at home and abroad, incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), introduced a package of bills Thursday targeting corrupt officials and private companies seeking to defraud American taxpayers and troops.

(snip)

Many Democratic Senators joined Leahy in reintroducing a bill creating criminal penalties for war profiteers and cheats who would exploit taxpayer-funded efforts in Iraq and elsewhere around the world. The War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007 builds on earlier efforts by Leahy, who is also a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, to crack down on this type of rampant fraud and abuse. It is similar to legislation Leahy introduced in 2003, that was subsequently passed by the Senate as part of an appropriations bill but later torpedoed by the White House and the House Republican leadership, which stripped out the Leahy provision.

Take a good look at the wording of this. To my eye, it looks like a total shitbomb for the Republicans. What's not to like? What wording could they complain about and not be outed as the total hypocrites and "War Profiteers" they really are.

What ever are the R's to do?

Cross Posted In My Jar.....

Can't. Stop. Laughing.

Cross Posted In My Jar.....

You guys can't make up your minds....

So I'm making them up for you.....




Humdee, humdee hum.... Robert says I need to do this, so being the gullible young thang (*cough*) that I am here goes......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKXM28bPMLQ

Huh Robert? That is the center bit of the html I posted. Nevermind.

Pssst, House Party at Johns' Place

I don't know if you guys are aware, but John left me and Stan with the blog keys this weekend.
He thinks we're "mature" enough to be trusted. heh

So, other than filling the tub with ice for the kegs, what would you like to see here this weekend? Other than a few mandatory pickles.

What would you prefer this weekend?
	National Politics?
	Indiana Politics?
	Music Videos?
	Original Opinion Posts?
	Pickles, Pickles and More Pickles?
	More Silly Polls?
pollcode.com free polls

She swoops in.......

and drops off..... Pickle Paranoia!!!!

Happy Blogiversary

January 5th marks the One-Year Blogiversary for Left in Aboite!

In my very first post, I listed two goals for myself and other progressives:

1. 2006 - We take back congress. (MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!)
2. 2008 - We end a double error! (LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!)

I've made ALOT of new friends over the last twelve months. It's been my great pleasure to work alongside all of you in the battle to restore our democracy. It can feel kind of lonely being a progressive democrat in a conservative community. Becoming a member of this online community of ours has erased that loneliness and encouraged me to become more of an activist. Because of blogging, I have become involved in my local Democratic Party, actively campaigned for local candidates, and have given voice to issues buried by our local media.

How did I happen to get on this particular bus? Well. . .a long time ago I ran a local BBS here in Fort Wayne, "City Limits", so I sorta had the bug already. I had shut down my BBS in January of 2000. In it's day, CL averaged over 300 messages per day and was host to CityNet, a local version of FidoNet that I created with the help of some other SysOps (System Operators). But the internet had taken a huge toll on BBS's, which were DOS-based, generally dial-up only, and ANSI-based. I always missed my "board". . .(Click here for an online-emulation of City Limits BBS - it will give you some idea of how the menus and general appearance of a Renegade BBS System appeared)

Flash forward to the fall of 2005 - I picked up a copy of The Fort Wayne Reader, a free local publication, and read a story about the local peace movement here in Fort Wayne. Much of the article centered around a local cat by the name of Robert Rouse. Robert and I had worked together 8 years prior; I hadn't heard from him in several years. The article mentioned Robert's blog (what the hell is THAT?) and gave a web address for it. I naturally went and checked it out, and became a loyal reader of Left of Centrist.

Blogging seemed quite a bit like BBSing, minus the "door games" and file-sharing components, and I was quickly hooked! By January, I was ready to jump on in. . .and I haven't looked back since!

My special thanks to Robert for the introduction, to Roger and George for the fellowship, and the countless numbers of you that are my progressive friends as well as those of you who have reached out me from across the aisle (Mitch, Beth, and Mike to name a few). I'm glad to have found all of you, and I thank you for your friendship and support!

Carlin on aging:

George Carlin's Views on Aging:

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids?

If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.

Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70!

After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there.

Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."Then a strange thing happens.

If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them That is why you pay "them "

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Bush to Congress: interpreted

From Jerome a Paris's diary on Kos:

The Wall Street Journal prints a long letter from George Bush to Congress this morning - where he is as defiant as ever.

The short version:

- Get ready to take the blame for Iraq and everything else I did.

- The mid-term elections were about earmarks, so you should no longer do these (yeah, he really writes this - and he wants a line item veto).

- I'll do my thing on Iraq. You can support me or take the blame for dividing us.

- Tax cuts are good. Don't even think of touching these.

- Don't even think of implementing any kind of policy I don't like.

(snip)

Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the complex problems that many don't expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in the partisan environment of today's Washington. To do that, however, we can't play politics as usual. Democrats will control the House and Senate, and therefore we share the responsibility for what we achieve.

Now that you won, you are responsible for everything I fucked up and will fuck up, but you should not be nasty like we were when we had all the power, because that would not be nice.

That mix of whiny contempt and breathless arrogance is quite typical of this administration.

I believe that when America is willing to use her influence abroad, the American people are safer and the world is more secure.

When we bomb the shit out of furners, we scare the shit out of the rest of the world, and that's good.

I believe that wealth does not come from government. It comes from the hard work of America's workers, entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Money comes from workers, and stays with companies and their shareholders, as it should be, because we destroyed the government's ability to have a sane economic policy.

I believe government closest to the people is more responsive and accountable.

The federal government, and this administration, is not accountable.

I believe government plays an important role in helping those who can't help themselves.

It's not their fault if big corporations cannot help themselves exploiting people, and we certainly played a big role in helping them do that.

Yet we must always remember that when people are hurting, they need a caring person, not a government bureaucracy.

I'll just point again to my very ideological diary: I don't do charity. Charity is useful and a good thing, but it should not be necessary. Government can be caring enough, if it's competent and has given the necessary objectives by the representatives of the people. I'm glad to see Dubya say the opposite, personally.

But what an amazing list of admissions. He's bragging about it all. No shame. No regrets. No intention to change anything.

Iraq

In the days ahead, I will be addressing our nation about a new strategy to help the Iraqi people gain control of the security situation and hasten the day when the Iraqi government gains full control over its affairs. Ultimately, Iraqis must resolve the most pressing issues facing them. We can't do it for them.

But we can help Iraq defeat the extremists inside and outside of Iraq--and we can help provide the necessary breathing space for this young government to meet its responsibilities. If democracy fails and the extremists prevail in Iraq, America's enemies will be stronger, more lethal, and emboldened by our defeat. Leaders in both parties understand the stakes in this struggle. We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus to fight and win the war.

I'll tell you what I will decide to do in Iraq, and you can either support me, or be responsible for defeat.

Note: I'm still a bit stunned to see the word "defeat" in his text. It's about blame shifting, of course, and it does not seem to have an impact on actualt policy making, but it's still remarkable that it's perceived now as a possible outcome in the White House. Maybe they're not absolutely delusional...

Tax cuts good. (Democratic) Earmarks bad

It is also a fact that our tax cuts have fueled robust economic growth and record revenues. Because revenues have grown and we've done a better job of holding the line on domestic spending, we met our goal of cutting the deficit in half three years ahead of schedule. By continuing these policies, we can balance the federal budget by 2012 while funding our priorities and making the tax cuts permanent. In early February, I will submit a budget that does exactly that. The bottom line is tax relief and spending restraint are good for the American worker, good for the American taxpayer, and good for the federal budget. Now is not the time to raise taxes on the American people.

I'll continue to do my thing. It's good for my base. Taxes would be bad for my base. Unhappy about it? Tough shit, commie.

One important message I took away from the election is that people want to end the secretive process by which Washington insiders are able to slip into legislation billions of dollars of pork-barrel projects that have never been reviewed or voted on by Congress. I'm glad Senator Robert Byrd and Congressman Dave Obey--the Democrats who will lead the appropriations process in the new Congress--heard that message, too, and have indicated they will refrain from including additional earmarks in the continuing resolution for this fiscal year.

But we can and should do more. It's time Congress give the president a line-item veto. And today I will announce my own proposal to end this dead-of-the-night process and substantially cut the earmarks passed each year.

The election was not about Iraq, no, it was about Congress being corrupt (as an institution, not because it was full of corrupt Republicans). The solution, of course, is to cut the power of Congress, to give ME more, and it has nothing to do with the fact that this power and these earmarks would go to others than my friends.

"Bipartisanship" (do it my way)

Our Founders believed in the wisdom of the American people to choose their leaders and provided for the concept of divided and effective government. The majority party in Congress gets to pass the bills it wants. The minority party, especially where the margins are close, has a strong say in the form bills take. And the Constitution leaves it to the president to use his judgment whether they should be signed into law.
That gives us a clear challenge and an opportunity. If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements, they will have chosen stalemate.

Let the minority party decide what's in your bills. If you don't, those bill will be "political" and will be vetoed by me - but I will blame you for bringing ineffectiveness and "stalemate" to Washington.

These are not the words of someone willing to be conciliatory. This is defiant, petulant, arrogant posturing - unfortunately backed by a lot of institutional power.

The challenge is clear. Bush will be a resolute obstacle to anything sane the Democratic Congress will try to do, and will continue to do his things as if nothing had happened in November - while using the opportunity of Democrats being "in power" to blame them for everything.

There can be no compromise. This is a declaration of war. Which should be good news, right? Bush is unable to win any war. Time to wage this one.


Hat Tip: Paddy

Next?

I've seen alot of conservatives defend George W. Bush and applaud the hanging of Saadam Hussein. They just don't seem to grasp the irony of that stance. Hussein was on America's payroll while he was performing selective genocide against his own people. Hell, WE paid for the poison gas he used against the Kurds!



I guess we'd better prepare some nooses for Shrub, Rummy, and DeadEye Dick! Poppy Bush as well! Reagan already got his; I wondered why Mark "I look live Beavis" Souder named a bypass after that guy. . .now I know: It's an endless repeating loop that attempts to suck the heart out of Fort Wayne. Rot in peace you carpetbagger: California spits on your grave!



This whole group would already be in Hell if Bealzibub weren't deathly afraid of a coup by the sonsabitches! He's already seen their work HERE, God forbid that they get their dirty little hands into Murdoch's corporate digs in Hell!

You tell me

Welcome back from another long holiday weekend! Here's the first "Make Your Own Caption" photo for 2007. . .

Lessons

Five (5) lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady - During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious studentand had breezed through the questions until I readthe last one:"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?I handed in my paper, leaving the last questionblank. Just before class ended, one student t asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade."Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers,you will meet many people. All are significant. Theydeserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned hername was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain - One night, at 11:30 P.M., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highwaytrying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car hadbroken down and she desperately needed a ride.Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The mantook her to safety, helped her get assistance andput her into a taxicab.She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down hisaddress and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, agiant console color TV was delivered to his home. Aspecial note was attached..It read:"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highwaythe other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.Because of you, I was able to make it to my dyinghusband's bedside just before he passed away... Godbless you for helping me and unselfishly servingothers." Sincerely,Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve - In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop andsat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water infront of him."How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked."Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket andstudied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient."Thirty-five cents," she brusquely repl ied. The little boy again counted his coins."I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill onthe table and walked away. The boy finished the icecream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitresscame back, she began to cry as she wiped down thetable. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,were two nickels and five pennies..You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path - In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see ifanyone would remove the huge rock. Some of theking's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came byand simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed theKing for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.Then a peasant came along carrying a load ofvegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, thepeasant laid down his burden and tried to move thestone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After thepeasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticeda purse lying in the road where the boulder hadbeen. The purse contained many gold coins and a notefrom the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. Thepeasant learned what many of us never understand!Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improveour condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts... Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at ahospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her onlychance of recovery appeared to be a bloodtransfusion from her 5-year old brother, who hadmiraculously survived the same disease and haddeveloped the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to herlittle brother, and asked the little boy if he wouldbe willing to give his blood to his sister.I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking adeep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it willsave her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay inbed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.He looked up at the doctor and asked with atrembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".Being young, the little boy had misunderstood thedoctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Most importantly.................. "Work like youdon't need the money, love like you've never beenhurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching."

NOW more than ever - Peace...Pass It On.....

Happy New Year!

. . .from Left in Aboite and ABBA:




May 2007 be a time of healing in our country. . .

Good's Best

Trapped!

You MIGHT be a conservative if. . .

John McCain's "Reality Shades"

Attacked!

Who'll Stop The Rain?