Sick!

Not good.

Members of Congress expressed concern on Thursday about new data indicating that Medicare pays private health plans more than it would cost to care for the same patients in the traditional Medicare program.

Tis believed the President will blame his opponents, aka, the world.

Tonight

Hey, big ups to J-Bau for pointing this out.

James "Blood" Ulmer, Jamaaldeen Tacuma, and Calvin Weston are playing at the Jazz Standard, which of course is connected to Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke. You can eat pretty good cue, and see amazing music. Nothing like some good pork right after the Big Rosh.

This was tied for the best show at JazzFest, and I can't think of a better weekend kickoff.

However, I won't be there ;) But I will be there Sunday night.

C'mon JFK

He asks:

"With all due respect to the president, has he turned on the evening news lately? Does he read the newspapers?" Kerry said. "Does he really know what's happening? Is he talking about the same war that the rest of us are talking about?"

The answer is NO! Do you read the papers? Dumbya flat out told the American people that he doesn't read the papers or watch TV. Why would he when he has his trusted advisors:

HUME: How do you get your news?

BUSH: I get briefed by Andy Card and Condi in the morning. They come in and tell me. In all due respect, you've got a beautiful face and everything.

I glance at the headlines just to kind of a flavor for what's moving. I rarely read the stories, and get briefed by people who are probably read the news themselves. But like Condoleezza, in her case, the national security adviser is getting her news directly from the participants on the world stage.

HUME: Has that been your practice since day one, or is that a practice that you've...

BUSH: Practice since day one.

HUME: Really?

BUSH: Yes. You know, look, I have great respect for the media. I mean, our society is a good, solid democracy because of a good, solid media. But I also understand that a lot of times there's opinions mixed in with news. And I...

HUME: I won't disagree with that, sir.

BUSH: I appreciate people's opinions, but I'm more interested in news. And the best way to get the news is from objective sources. And the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world.

George Bush and Brit Hume, Fox News, 9/23/03

Case Closed on Kobe

AP:

"The single most important fact in Kobe's statement was that she kissed him at the door when she left the room," he said. "That alone would be the ball game for many jurors. You seldom find your rape victims kissing assailants goodbye."

He's still an asshole. Hey dick, if you wanna fuck around don't get married.

Tell Me

How many countries have leaders, parliaments, elected officials, whatever, and are actually disasters, or going nowhere in a hurry? I'd say, uhh, 1, 2, 3...A LOT.

Dumbya and his cronies keep saying, "There's a new prime minister in place...elections are coming soon..." and on and on and on. So. SO! Like that makes a nation stable?

Liar or Denial?

Does it even matter?

While a new intelligence estimate offers a gloomy assessment of Iraq's future, President Bush talks instead about brighter days ahead under a new prime minister and the promise of free elections. "Freedom is on the march," he told a campaign rally Thursday.

That's right! FREEDOM IS ON THE MARCH!!! Remember my thoughts on optimists versus pesismists the other day? These people never stop making excuses for themselves.:

White House communications director Dan Bartlett accused Democrats of unfounded pessimism. "President Bush gets his briefings from commanders on the ground. He has reason for his optimism because of the enormous amount of progress we have made," Bartlett said.

It really is amazing how ridiculous these people are. Mrs. W says you can't convince anyone of anything, they have to see it for themselves. She's so right. So for you goose-steppers that think this is going well, turn on the T.V. and just pay attention.

School Choice

I call these educators Girlie-Men:

It had been a month since one of the nation's largest charter school operators collapsed, leaving 6,000 students with no school to attend this fall. The businessman who used $100 million in state financing to build an empire of 60 mostly storefront schools had simply abandoned his headquarters as bankruptcy loomed, refusing to take phone calls. That left Mr. Larson, a school superintendent whose district licensed dozens of the schools, to clean up the mess.

"Hysterical parents are calling us, swearing and shouting," Mr. Larson said in an interview in Oro Grande last week. "People are walking off with assets all over the state. We're absolutely sinking."

Great stuff.

Herbert

I must say that Bob Herbert's columns have become the "can't miss" pieces over at the Times.

Three more marines were killed yesterday in Iraq. Kidnappings are commonplace. The insurgency is growing and becoming more sophisticated, which means more deadly. Ordinary Iraqis are becoming ever more enraged at the U.S.

When the newscaster David Brinkley, appalled by the carnage in Vietnam, asked Lyndon Johnson why he didn't just bring the troops home, Johnson replied, "I'm not going to be the first American president to lose a war."

George W. Bush is now trapped as tightly in Iraq as Johnson was in Vietnam. The war is going badly. The president's own intelligence estimates are pessimistic. There is no plan to actually win the war in Iraq, and no willingness to concede defeat.

I wonder who the last man or woman will be to die for this colossal mistake.

I wonder if Dumbya wonders?

Liberators

Smart bombs, smarter leaders:

Iraqi health officials said American airstrikes that demolished homes late today in a village south of the volatile city of Falluja killed at least 44 people and wounded 27, including women and children.

Witnesses said the strikes began at around 10 p.m. at Zobaa, a village about 18 miles south of Falluja, and lasted for three hours. The bombardment destroyed almost a dozen homes, they said, and left scores of people buried beneath piles of rubble. Rescue efforts continued throughout the day.

The American military said its planes were aiming at insurgent strongholds, and that it might have killed as many as 60 fighters.

The Health Ministry said that of the people who were wounded, 17 were children and 8 were women. Two doctors at the main hospital in Falluja, Dr. Muthana Khodaiyar and Dr. Bilel Jasim, put the death toll at 56 and the number of wounded at 44.

The American military said it conducted a second strike in Falluja at 9:30 p.m. aimed at a meeting of 10 insurgents belonging to the guerrilla network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian fugitive. The meeting took place near a mosque and a school, the military said. It did not say how many people were killed in the strike.

How long can they use this guy as an excuse for killing innocent people and children?

In an unrelated story, conservatives still back the war that kills children, and support an amendment protecting the unborn here at home.

Imagine This Headline

Iran Tells US to Stop Enriching Uranium

This is more of the same. Watch as President does nothing about Iran but mentions Libya a lot. By the way, what year is it?

Bush-et

I bet she smiled the whole time:

HAMILTON, N.J. - A woman wearing a T-shirt with the words "President Bush (news - web sites) You Killed My Son" and a picture of a soldier killed in Iraq (news - web sites) was detained Thursday after she interrupted a campaign speech by first lady Laura Bush.

Police escorted Sue Niederer, of Hopewell, N.J., from a rally at a firehouse after she demanded to know why her son, Army 1st Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, was killed in Iraq. Dvorin died in February while trying to disarm a bomb...

Local police escorted her from the event, handcuffed her and put her in the back of a police van.

The first lady continued speaking, touting her husband's record on the economy, health care and the war on terror to those attending the rally in this suburban community of 90,000 people near Trenton.


She made several references to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and said that many in New Jersey, including some in neighborhoods near the firehouse, lost family members that day.

BeeeeeeLOW Me, bitch.

The article should be titled, "Bush Disrupts Life of Local Woman Forever"

Oh, there's more!

Wait, what happened to everything has already been released?:

In a related development, White House press secretary Scott McClellan hinted that more documents regarding Bush's National Guard service may soon be released. Asked whether officials in the White House have seen unreleased documents, McClellan called that "a very real possibility." Other officials with knowledge of the situation said more documents had indeed been uncovered and would be released in the coming days.

Btw, I love how the Washington Post does the White House bidding for them, digging dirt up about this "memo" story, but basically letting Bush's entire ridiculous past pass them by.

Can I get a double check on his Harken stock sale?

Love to Hate

WaPo:

House Republicans have objected to a Senate initiative to strengthen and expand the federal hate crimes law, probably dooming prospects for its passage this year as part of the 2005 defense authorization bill.

"It's not going to go anywhere," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said after he presented House Judiciary Committee Democrats' case for the Senate proposal Tuesday during an informal session of the House-Senate conference that will write the final version of the defense bill.

The proposal, approved by the Senate in June, would add offenses based on sexual orientation, gender and disabilities to a civil-rights-era law that allows federal prosecution of crimes based on race, color, religion or national origin.

It would also eliminate a restriction permitting federal prosecutions only for cases where victims were engaged in federally protected activities, such as voting, and provide federal assistance for state and local authorities in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

During the closed-door session, Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), representing the committee's GOP majority, said Republicans opposed inclusion of the hate crimes provision in the defense bill, arguing in part that it improperly punishes thought rather than action, according to Nadler and others.

Hmmm, better get to work on Mein Kampf 2. Afterall, it's just a bunch of thoughts...

People, Relax...

Here's the latest PEW Poll:

The latest national survey of 1,972 registered voters by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted in two waves over a seven-day period, finds that the president's large margin of support in the initial period (Sept. 8-10) dissipated in the polling conducted Sept. 11-14. Among all registered voters Bush initially led Kerry by 52%-40%. However, the second wave of interviewing shows the race even among registered voters, at 46%-46%. When the sample is narrowed to likely voters, Bush holds a statistically insignificant lead of 47%-46% in the second wave, down from a huge 54%-38% advantage he held in the first wave of interviews.

I'm not saying this means anything. I don't believe in polls. In 2002 Attorney General Strickland of Colorado had a 9 point lead the week of the race over incumbent US Senator Wayne Allard. Allard won by at least10 points, or so, the other way.

Anyway, point is, it's not over. Iraq is a disaster, and according to this survey:

This increased attentiveness is carrying over into heightened interest in the debates. Six-in-ten voters (61%) say it is very likely they will watch the debates between Bush and Kerry, which is significantly higher than debate interest in the last two elections.

What my thought has been all along is simple. There's this belief that Evangelicals, which are a much less significant group than many assume, are going to come to the polls in droves. Newsflash!!! They did!!! They hated Clinton/Gore, and they came out. Besides, in so many of those states it's not even a race.

Bush has done very little aside from give away cash, create debt, and make us less safe (although many don't realize it). He hasn't earned 4 years. I maintain that Kerry will probably win this thing because considering how little people still know about him, and the poor campaign to date, he's still close.

I don't think this poll confirms anything just like I don't believe in the other polls.

Just have faith that Kerry can crush him in the debates regardless of low expectation for Bush. He will not get a free pass on this one. And if Kerry cannot beat Bush in debates, well, he doesn't deserve to be President of ANYTHING.

And Another

Johnny Ramone, dead at 55.

Things come in threes, but you usually hope they're not all in the same band.

Torture in the Middle East

I'm talking about SportsCenter, a show that jumped not only the shark, but every fish in the sea.

If you have been unlucky enough to watch this shit-stained program for the last week you may have noticed Stuart Scott and Sean Salisbury in Kuwait. It's nauseating for a billion reasons, but here are a few that stick out.

ESPN (or should I saw parent company Disney) wants to show they support the troops, more so than FOX SPORTS. I mean, FOX clearly has cornered the market on patriotism these days, royt? So ESPN needs to bring Stu Scott's ebonics to the Middle East to show that they too over at ESPN bleed red, white, and blue. Watch out, Stu, there may be a gang war!

The bigger issue, that one that kills me, is ESPN is making it seem as if Kuwait, and the situation in the Middle East isn't so bad! That the troops are fired up to talk about "Favre's Backup" (a cannon with those words painted on the barrel). So here we have Disney's sports arm sort of glorifying the situation over there, all the while making it seem like "it's not so bad" back here in the states.

It's DISGUSTING.

During Vietnam the White House, and all its occupants, went after people in the media like David Halberstam, and anyone else who painted the real Vietnam picture. That was bad for their war effort. It's like the same thing today. We are sending back these great images, and have people over at the Wall Street Journal talking about the "good things." Please already. Shit is NOT GOOD.

When the American public wakes up one day, most of the war supporters probably no longer caring about Iraq anyway, and asks, "Wow! How did this happen? How did Iraq get so bad? I mean, just last night I saw Sean Salisbury talking about the 5 yard bump rule with Kenny Mayne, and things seemed ok!" You can thank people like Stuart Scott, Steve Levy, ESPN, Disney and the rest of the bogus media for your answers.

I wonder if it's considered torture to make Iraqis sit through one SportsCenter broadcast? BOOYAH!!!

Step 1

I'm sure this'll make a difference:

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Prominent Saudis dismissed U.S. accusations of severe violations of religious freedom in the kingdom and said on Thursday that the criticisms were politically motivated.

Government officials were not immediately available over the Muslim weekend to respond to Washington's decision to put Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries of "particular concern" in an annual report on Wednesday tracking religious freedom worldwide.

Oy vey.

Bad Move

AP:

A former top-level State Department official illegally took a secret, unauthorized trip to Taiwan last year and met with Taiwanese intelligence officers, according to a criminal complaint.

Donald W. Keyser, a 30-year veteran at the State Department, was charged Wednesday with deliberately concealing from his superiors that he took a four-day trip to Taiwan last September. Federal law requires an individual with Keyser's security clearances to report all foreign travel.

Keyser would not have been permitted to travel to Taiwan on official business because the United States and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations, according to court papers.

I'm sure Colin Powell is furious!

Nothing like some good ole back channel work to piss of the Chinese.

Oops

Iraq:

The National Intelligence Council presented President Bush this summer with several pessimistic scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.

In a highly classified National Intelligence Estimate, the council looked at the political, economic and security situation in the war-torn country and determined that — at best — stability in Iraq would be tenuous, a U.S. official said late Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

At worst, the official said, were "trend lines that would point to a civil war." The official said it "would be fair" to call the document "pessimistic."

The intelligence estimate, which was prepared for Bush, considered the window of time between July and the end of 2005. But the official noted that the document draws on intelligence community assessments from January 2003, before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent deteriorating security situation there.

Eyes on the prize here people. We "removed an Evil dictator...who gassed his own people...we're liberating Iraqis..." What a bunch of children we have running this nation into the dirt.:

Disclosure of the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq came the same day that Senate Republicans and Democrats denounced the Bush administration's slow progress in rebuilding Iraq, saying the risks of failure are great if it doesn't act with greater urgency.

"It's beyond pitiful, it's beyond embarrassing, it's now in the zone of dangerous," said Sen. Chuck Hagel R-Neb., referring to figures showing only about 6 percent of the reconstruction money approved by Congress last year has been spent.

Thank you, Chuck.

Rather

WaPo:

"This is not about me," Rather said before anchoring last night's newscast. "I recognize that those who didn't want the information out and tried to discredit the story are trying to make it about me, and I accept that."

Hmmm, how do I say this? Uhh, EXACTLY?!?! Yeah, exactly.:

In her interview with Rather yesterday, Knox repeated her contention that the documents used by "60 Minutes" were bogus. Knox, 86, worked for Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian while he supervised Bush's unit in the early 1970s.

"I know that I didn't type them," Knox said of the Killian memos. "However, the information in there is correct," she said, adding that Killian and the other officers would "snicker about what [Bush] was getting away with."

Rather said he was "relieved and pleased" by Knox's comments that the disputed memos reflected Killian's view of the favorable treatment that Bush received in the military unit. But he said, "I take very seriously her belief that the documents are not authentic." If Knox is right, Rather said, the public "won't hear about it from a spokesman. They'll learn it from me."

Congress seems to get more upset about documents that are accurate, yet possibly forgeries, than they do when a CIA Agent covering Weapons of Mass Destruction is exposed by the White House.

This is Rich

Dubya's religiosity:

George W. Bush is among the most openly religious presidents in U.S. history. A daily Bible reader, he often talks about how Jesus changed his heart. He has spoken, publicly and privately, of hearing God's call to run for the presidency and of praying for God's help since he came into office.

But despite the centrality of Bush's faith to his presidency, he has revealed only the barest outline of his beliefs, leaving others to sift through the clues and make assumptions about where he stands.

Probably because he's a bullshit artist who not only doesn't read the bible, but only "uses" religion as a tool to help himself, just like every other available tool he used throughout life.

Such a bold man, so moved by God, yet so unwilling to be straightforward about how he feels. Yet, so willing to shift government dollars to churches that discriminate. Speaking of discriminating:

On the question of salvation, Bush has also adopted a nuanced position. In a Houston Post interview in 1994, as he was beginning his first run for governor, he suggested that heaven is open only to those who have accepted Jesus as their savior. Though to many Christians that is a basic article of faith, the comment caused a small furor among Jews in Texas and threatened to become a bigger problem when Bush considered running for president.

Yeah, that's how he really feels, JEWS!

Illegal?

AP:

U.S. allies Britain and Australia on Thursday rejected a claim by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the war in Iraq was ''illegal'' because Washington and its coalition partners never got Security Council backing for the invasion.

Remember when the President was going to go back to the UN? Yeah, that happened.

Here's a plan, it's called the Powell Doctrine, and before you goto war it's good to have the support of allies and a majority of your citizens.

If it's illegal, or isn't, why didn't they check with the head of the body they claimed to be representing before they went to war? Hmmmm....

Shana Tova

Happy New Year, Jews.

Just some thoughts right quick.

There's good reason to be worried about the election, and the state of the nation. Another four years of Bush will obviously result in more terrorist, and the United States as not only primary target for those who are, but also primary reason for those to become.

The whole Iraq thing is a disaster. Ughh, siiiigh, whatever you do, or think, it's a disaster. There's no end in sight, and the damage done is so beyond fixing. I mean, if the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the primary reason we're there (MEast) then it's even worse than we acknowledge. Aside from a few stories here or there on that conflict, the news media is light. Essentially, the President's policy is "Let Sharon Do What He Wants" and for some reason that's viewed as good. Today, Safire even waxed about the braveness of the settlers, and the overwhelming support Sharon has for his plans. Couldn't be further from the truth. Last time I checked Sharon was working on keeping a government intact, on a DAILY basis. Digressing back, there's no end in sight.

There is clear information that people in the Administration, especially Jews like Wolfowitz and others believed that restoring a pipeline from Iraq to Israel would begin the transformation process of an Arab state that hates Israel to one that is a democracy that conducts business. How ridiculous. I mean, seriously, how ridiculous. Iraq, Israel, the whole thing, not looking good and while you may feel safer at home this President has done nothing to make the world safer, or a better place. It's that simple.

Everyone knows we can be attacked one way or another, and some of those other ways have to do with MAJOR issues ignored, i.e., Iran, North Korea, loose Russian nuclear materials. It's ridiculous where we're at.

To think that so many Americans don't care about what's going on, or just don't know is also sad and ridiculous. My friend mentioned that he's sick of Democrats taking the high road in elections because it doesn't work. Well, he's right, it doesn't work. One day Republicans will go so far in their lying, and feel so shielded because they get away with it so often that another huge Watergate-like scandal will bust. Meanwhile, they get away with lying to start wars, exposing CIA agents, stealing Senators's documents, countless things. So do Americans not care? They just don't. And the Bush supporters, well they just hate democrats. Not even for their ideas, etc., but for the fact that many point out that this world should be about caring, giving, selflessness, etc. They don't want to be told they're selfish, so they invent bullshit policies, and rationales to backup their absurd lifestyle of living for today.

You cannot truly be serious if you think that blowing up the world, and starting wars is going to solve tomorrow's problems. It seems to me that, like the President, you won't be here when the check comes due, so why pay it now. It's a sad reality. I could go on...and I will...

The reason for this post is: some people say, "Well, what goes around, comes around, and Democrats will be in control again at some point..." That doesn't work for me, sorry.

The difference now is there may not be another "point." That's why there's such vehemence from a lot of people, especially educated, concerned democrats, and free thinkers. We're going down a road toward disaster the way we're going. Forget terrorism, and all that, what about the desire to mix church and state, the pro-business anti-environmental tilt, the corporate dominance of mainstream media, the market scandals, and so much crap that goes on in this country. NOW, add terrorism and world wars and you really have issues.

Many Americans think winning is the only thing. You can see it in the way we carry ourselves in the Olympics, or war. There can be no second. Do you doubt for a second that America and China, assuming we get past these current wars, are not going to war? I mean, China can make us second! Would flag waivers EVER stand for that? It's this mentality that allows Bush to win anything. AMERICA WILL PREVAIL! THE TERRORISTS WON'T WIN!!! All that crap.

Point being, every day we go forward on this radical path is another day towards the destruction of the union. And for you optimists. Go fuck yourselves. Seriously, I mean it, GO FUCK YOURSELVES. When I hear people say, "Well, I'm optimistic!" I just laugh. I'm optimistic as well because I know people like me are out there, working to make the world better anyway we can. I have faith in the WORLD. I don't have faith in the people in control of our country right now, at all. Those that do are blindful flag waivers who blame everyone else for our problems.

Joseph Ellis wrote in "The Founding Brothers" something to the effect that we assume the nation with it's short history is going to hold. That this experiment with Federalism works, and will continue to. I don't think it's going to. Not to say that would terrible for our kids, and their kids, and on and on. I don't know what the situation would be. Maybe it'd be better, maybe worse, I have no idea. But at the rate we're going it seems their really could be a sorta-civil war in this nation. I'm not talking next year.

So, there's good reason to be worried about the election. Things need to be reversed. Women need to be governing more, everywhere, and dialogue over war must take place on some level. Right now there is NO DIALOGUE! Why? Because you can't negotiate with terrorists, right?!?!? Whatever. If that's the case, blow up Saudi Arabia already and do something real. Get us off oil, and fund science. I mean, where are we headed. Most people are headed for work, or somewhere else, but that's not an excuse for ignorance.

Things need to be done, and I worry that they're not being done. But I will continue to fight, even when Bush/Cheney 2004 Fund Raisers kick me off their radio station. It's your job to do something for the sake of the future. Unfortunately the burden has been placed on this generation, and not enough is being done.

I'm an optimist. Happy New Year.


(ignore grammar)

The Juggler

NYTIMES: Survey Confirms It: Women Outjuggle Men.

Strange, considering I spend about a good 20 hours a week "jugglin."

Must Read

Dennis Hastert, House Scum. Tell me, Republicans, do you ever feel shame? Evah?!?!?

When It Shits It Rains

Seriously, yesterday was a long day. Almost too long. Yesterday was a day that had at least 25 Hours in it, and I used them all.

Lets just say it didn't start off great, but it ended in hilarious fashion. When you think things aren't going so right all one has to do is look around at all the options afforded to oneself.

I decided to leave Connecticut and head down to the Acoustic Ween show at the 11th Street Bar in the East Village. The lineup was Gene, Claude, and Dave. The show was phenomenal, as my right-hand man Dees can attest.

Post show Gener needed a ride back to J.C. because Claude was hanging. Plus, Claude's car got rained in last week and supposedly smelled like a pile of shit on wheels. That left me to take him home after Dees (sorry bout the Wook teeth), Gene, and I walked so I could 'bring it down' a bit. Of course, this guy AJ that I know had to harass Gene about some gig he "needed to play" NEXT SUMMER!

We part Dees and head back to JC, both of us discussing what it's like to perform live. He was telling me how nervous he was before the show, and I was quite surprised. I told him what I thought of his music, and his guitar playing especially. He told me that if I wasn't nervous before I went on-air then something was wrong with me.

At this point we decided that going to sleep wasn't an option, so we called Agent Hynd and the Hammer to play some stick at 330, drink some beers, and what have you. After chilling for a bit Gene decided he wanted to play Wilson's Rhodes, so he did. He played some random stuff and then "Maybe I'm Amazed." After that he picked up Hammer's Acoustic Axe and did some Ween. The highlight being "Chocolate Town" where we all sang as he played and sang. He also showed us how to play it right.

So, we played stick, shot shit, and then Gene and I rolled out. We talked about "When It Shits It Rains" a new Jewish saying we came up with, and how it really can shit.

It really was a long day, or few days should I say, but it ended so nicely.

And ftr, I started listening to my tapes, which I normally cannot do (neither can Gene his), and realized something: I'm Fucking Good At This Shit!

So, in the 25th hour I realize I'm a lucky dude to be spending time with a musician that I adore, and is an all-around great guy. Most people don't get to have that shit, so I feel pretty tight. Please, tell me to fuck off if I wallow in self pity...but please, allow me, I'm a thoughtful person...

So Weak

So CBS is now taking heat for these memos with regard to Bush's service, and the 60 Minutes program that aired them.

As I said before, even if the memos are fake, does it change the fact that first part of the show featured Ben Barnes pointing out that he got Bush a special spot in the TEXANG, as well as other "fortunate sons?"

Doesn't that contradict Bush's own "there was a need for a pilot...I got lucky" story that he still tells to this day?

On a scale of 1-6 how dumb is the American public? 6 being Bush, 1 being Aristotle.

Hoos

If this isn't the funniest quote ever, I'm not sure what is. After scoring a TD, Virginia Running Back Marquis Weeks had this to say:

"That was just instinct. Kind of like running from the cops."

That's a Headline

WaPo: Bush's Words Contradict Agenda

In other news, "Horse Shit Smells" & "Some Hookers Love Crack"

The Budge

I love this shit:

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who chairs the Appropriations Committee, defended a plan to use budget devices to add $6 billion to $7 billion to pending appropriations bills for fiscal 2005.

"There's an overwhelming need there for more money," Stevens said after emerging from a luncheon caucus of Republican senators.

The budgetary maneuvering in the Senate would push discretionary spending in 2005 well above the $821.6 billion ceiling set by the White House.

That ceiling has resulted in a major squeeze on popular domestic programs, even as spending for the Pentagon and domestic counterterrorism programs soars. The near-freeze in domestic spending that the Bush administration proposed has brought protests from key constituencies, including universities, medical research centers and community health groups.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) said this week that Congress should hold the line on spending. But he is pressing for the House Appropriations Committee to restore about $1.1 billion that it cut from the Bush administration's budget proposal for NASA.

The cuts would affect Mars exploration, in which NASA facilities based in DeLay's home town of Houston have a role. The NASA funding dispute has stalled action on the bill, which also funds veterans and environmental programs.

This article discusses the way Senators are coming up with gimmicks to circumvent the President's budget request. It's funny when scum like Tom Delay wants increased NASA funding in his district so we can get to MARS faster, and yet he's the fiscal conservative.

Also in the bill is $3 Billion in cash to Florida for it's disaster. Sorry, but if Florida wasn't a swing state I'd expect half that cash, and not as quickly. Btw, if there are parts of the Senate bill that someone didn't like, say Tom Delay's NASA cash, then you essentially "voted against helping Floridians in need." That's where we're at.

However, in a non-bill vote, which will never show up, Republicans did vote against this:

Despite a loosening of purse strings in other areas, the Senate yesterday turned back Democratic initiatives to increase spending for homeland security, including a proposal to nearly double funding for such high-threat urban areas as New York and Washington.

As it considered the $36.7 billion spending bill for domestic security, the Senate rejected a proposal by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer, both New York Democrats, to add $625 million to the $875 million already in the legislation for the nation's most vulnerable population centers. This would have brought the total to $1.5 billion, the figure recommended by Bush for high-risk areas.

But of course, that's soooooo secondary.

Fraud

And yet he'll win:

One of the most competitive Senate races in the country turned nasty this week, as former GOP congressman and obstetrician Tom Coburn has had to respond to published reports that he committed Medicaid fraud 14 years ago.

The allegation stems from a medical malpractice suit brought by a 20-year-old woman who said that Coburn, without her permission, removed one of her fallopian tubes, which left her sterilized. The case never went to trial, but court documents first reported this week by Salon.com show that Coburn withheld information about the sterilization in submitting a bill to Medicaid for a related procedure involving a troubled pregnancy because the Medicaid program does not cover the sterilization of anyone younger than 21. Coburn said he withheld the information to ensure the woman was reimbursed for the cost of removing the other fallopian tube in which a fetus was lodged...

Coburn has advocated the death penalty for abortionists, and said the state was not attracting business because of some undefined "crapheads" blocking it in Oklahoma City...

Tone changer.

Vacay

(Okay, I had to post twice)

Hey, I'm gone. I'll do some light posting when I can, but I needed to leave the area and screw my head on (or off).

Just need to get away from things for a few.

Thanks to Binney and Rogers for kicking off Sunday night (and Friday) in the finest of fashions.

I would suggest to anyone to checkout what this guy is doing.

Ciao.

Porter Goss

Why isn't anyone asking this?:

"Explain to me how failure to exercise adequate oversight qualifies you to lead our intelligence agencies,'' said Kristen Breitweiser of Middletown, N.J., whose husband, Ronald, was killed in the World Trade Center.

Considering he was head of the House Intel Committee long before 9/11 it really is interesting. As head of the committee he had but ONE job. He failed.

USAir

I'm sifting through the USAir articles and a few things stick out.

First, for you,the consumer/passenger:

As a precaution, consumers should not pay for tickets with cash or checks, Mr. Brancatelli said, and they should consult their credit card companies to make sure they will not be charged if the airline stops flying.

What about the issue that is foremost on the minds of the 23 million members of US Airways' frequent flier program? Again, the advice is: Don't fret.

"No major airline that's gone out of business has ever hung their frequent fliers out to dry," Mr. Brancatelli said.

But John Frenaye, who owns Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Arnold, Md., is advising his clients to redeem their US Airways frequent flier miles as quickly as possible, although he is still booking flights on the airline. "I haven't panicked yet," he said. "I think for anyone flying before February 2005, there's no danger that their flights will be affected. But after that, I would start to think about making other plans."

Frequent fliers might be better off cashing in their miles through one of the airlines that are partners with US Airways in the international Star Alliance, like United, Lufthansa or Singapore, some analysts said.

As Wood Yi can atest, having missed the Parker wedding because he flew Tower Air. Second is the absurd politics behind it, and the fact the people in Alabama will suffer. Buried way down in the article is this little tidbit:

The decision to seek a second bankruptcy filing in essence rested with Mr. Bronner, the airline's chairman and the chief executive of Alabama's pension fund, which became the airline's largest investor in 2002 when it emerged from its first reorganization.

Mr. Bronner, an industry novice, now joins a small group of otherwise successful business leaders tripped up by the complex industry, including the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren E. Buffett, who had invested in US Airways, and Carl Icahn, who once controlled TWA. Unlike Mr. Buffett, who once declared there was "no tougher job in corporate America than running an airline," Mr. Bronner expressed no regrets.

That's nice. Corporate guy pulls cash from Bama Pension Fund into failing company that he runs. Nice way to get some cash! This reminds me of the time when Jeb Bush watched as the Florida State Teachers Pension Fund was buying Enron stock as the company was tanking. That was a BIG STORY! Yeah, and by big I mean you never heard it.

Weapons

The assault weapons ban exprires today.

Republicans are actually for assault weapons.

Weapons, made to assault. Weapons that can be sold on the streets of this country. These people are the majority of Congress and in control of the White House.

Assault Weapons.

Must Read

This Iraq story really tells many tales:

Conway arrived in Iraq in March pledging to accelerate reconstruction projects as a way to subdue Anbar province, dominated by Sunni Muslims. But on March 31 he was confronted in Fallujah with the killing of four U.S. security contractors, whose bodies were mutilated or burned by a celebrating mob. Conway said he resisted calls for revenge, and instead advocated targeted operations and continued engagement with municipal leaders.

"We felt like we had a method that we wanted to apply to Fallujah: that we ought to probably let the situation settle before we appeared to be attacking out of revenge," he said in an interview with four journalists after the change-of-command ceremony. "Would our system have been better? Would we have been able to bring over the people of Fallujah with our methods? You'll never know that for sure, but at the time we certainly thought so."

He echoed an argument made by many Iraqi politicians and American analysts -- that the U.S. attack further radicalized a restive city, leading many residents to support the insurgents. "When we were told to attack Fallujah, I think we certainly increased the level of animosity that existed," Conway said.

He would not say where the order to attack originated, only that he received an order from his superior at the time, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the overall commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. Some senior U.S. officials in Iraq have said the command originated in the White House.

First, Bush vowed revenge, and of course we never got it. Second, Sanchez is now the blame guy, here and with Abu Ghraib. Third, do they ever admit to doing anything wrong? Fourth, think President Kerry would have screwed up this badly? Actually, it's a bad question because we all know no other president would even be there. Read on:

Marine officials say they believe that threats, tribal ties and other influences led many of the soldiers to tacitly support the insurgents. The leaders of two National Guard battalions, which had been working with the Fallujah Brigade, were kidnapped. One was beheaded and the fate of the other is unknown. A video of the killing has circulated in Fallujah to dissuade people from working with security forces.

Eventually, the 800 AK-47 assault rifles, 27 pickup trucks and 50 radios the Marines gave the brigade wound up in the hands of the insurgents, according to Marine officers. Marines manning a checkpoint on the city's eastern fringe were shot at by gunmen wearing Fallujah Brigade uniforms.

Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway says the U.S.-led assault on Fallujah served to increase "the level of animosity" in the city.

Conway's chief of staff, Col. John Coleman, said he and other senior Marine officers did not foresee the challenges in getting people from Fallujah to police the city. "I'm not sure we fully understood the hardness of the city, the harshness of the elements operating inside," he said.

Conway insisted the brigade was an experiment.

Just one big experiment.

Uhhraq

Such precision:

The military said in a statement that the attack was on a base intelligence officers had confirmed was used by rebels loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant believed by American officials to be Al Qaeda's most senior leader in Iraq. Americans have blamed Mr. Zarqawi for many of the suicide bombings in Baghdad and in other Iraqi cities.

News agency reports from Falluja that the air strikes killed at least 16 civilians, including women and children, and that an ambulance was hit by a shell, killing the driver and six other occupants, were denied by a coalition press officer by telephone from Baghdad.

I'm just doing some light math here and according to "coaliton forces" they've killed a whopping ZERO civilians since the beginning of the war. Those are some smart fucking smart bombs!

No Debates?

Shocking:

The day before, in Parkersburg, W.Va., Mr. Bush said that he asked Congress last September for $87 billion to help pay for "armor and body parts'' in Afghanistan and Washington.

Can't imagine why they wouldn't want them.

MoveOn.Del

and we move on...