Results of the straw poll: Zero
Guess I don't have a big audience. But I will blog on!
"Don't tell me the moon is shining;
show me the glint of light on broken glass."
--Anton Chekov, from The Writer's Almanac for today, his birthday.
"He died in 1904 and was buried in Moscow. The crowds that were watching the funeral procession held up all traffic."
Gonzales gets promoted, Rice crowned? Chertoff appointed? What does a body have to do to get fired in this administration? tell the truth? obey the law?
From an AP news report:
“Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood, according to an insider's written account.”
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Just became obvious to me why the hillbillies wear boots with the suits. I listened to the inaugural speech on NPR and man the bullshit was thick. Need waders.
There he goes again
You just can’t sit by and let your government run on automatic. Automatic pilot is for aircraft.
Microcosm: A few years ago our homeowners association was run by a man we later learned wasn’t even an owner. He was renting. He diverted hundreds of dollars of our fees to a relative as a way of paying himself, stealing money.
Of course most of us just want to live here, pay our fee, and have a nice common lawn, shrubbery, and a few annuals planted at the entrance to our neighborhood. Maybe 15% of us attend the annual meetings to approve budgets and elect officers.
It’s kind of like that in all of America. We may complain at the local bars and diners but we pay our taxes and go to sleep at night pretty sure other countries won’t invade us. We don’t “go to the meetings.” Heck, if more than half of us vote it’s a benchmark.
Many things have gone wrong in government and we usually don’t find out until it becomes too big for the corporate media to ignore. Kind of like Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair, where guys like Elliot Abrams and Ollie North were convicted of crimes. Abrams was pardoned by George H.W. Bush.
Now Rummy is looking longingly at using death squads in Iraq modeled after Reagan’s cockamamie Iran-Contra idea. From Sojourners: “Is it merely coincidence that President Bush appointed Elliot Abrams in mid-2003 to be his senior advisor on the Middle East?”
“The ‘Democracy Option’ disappears in Iraq.”
It is difficult to keep your heart these days.
Also from Sojourners and the daily dig, “silence is betrayal.” Don’t let even your town council member steal a dime, don’t let your government steal your country’s soul.
"A time comes when silence is betrayal. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought, within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Turn your back on lies today. Turn your back on Bush.
Burning the candle at both ends
Here’s how one and one equal zero in the Bush economic doctrine: Tax cuts have improved the economy, helped create jobs. The economy is growing.
Social Security is in crisis and must be handed over to Wall Street to save it. This will cost three trillion dollars and we’ll have to borrow it to “save” Social Security.
Hmmm. If the economy is growing and jobs are being created because of tax cuts, and if Bush is going to make those tax cuts permanent, then the Social Security trust fund surely must grow, too.
The numbers Bush uses to create the crisis in the minds of those stupid enough to keep accepting twisted logic from this White House are based on the most pessimistic economic forecast his geniuses of propaganda can fake. So Bush wants to take your retirement (all of it, for the poor elderly) and roll the dice with his investment banker buddies.
It would be like taking grandmother’s money to Vegas on the chance she may go broke before she dies, even though you might calculate she has enough to live to be a hundred and twenty.
One end of the candle, tax cuts for the wealthy/crushing debt for generations to come, is burning. Think about that today while America in Washington “celebrates freedom,” prepared to light the other end of the candle. The elite, powerful, and rich are really celebrating the freedom to pick our pockets.
Can’t think of a better man to carry a lantern of truth for the people than Paul Krugman, interviewed by Rolling Stone:
RS: What would you say to college students and young workers who are convinced they'll never see a dime of the money they put into Social Security?
Paul Krugman: You've been sold a scare story. Right now Social Security has a large and growing trust fund -- a surplus that has been collected to pay for the surge in benefits we'll experience when the baby boomers start to retire. If you're twenty now, you'll be hitting retirement around 2052. That's the year the Congressional Budget Office says the trust fund will run out. In fact, many economists say it may never run out. If the economy continues to grow at an average rate, the trust fund could quite possibly last forever.
There he goes again
You just can’t sit by and let your government run on automatic. Automatic pilot is for aircraft.
Microcosm: A few years ago our homeowners association was run by a man we later learned wasn’t even an owner. He was renting. He diverted hundreds of dollars of our fees to a relative as a way of paying himself, stealing money.
Of course most of us just want to live here, pay our fee, and have a nice common lawn, shrubbery, and a few annuals planted at the entrance to our neighborhood. Maybe 15% of us attend the annual meetings to approve budgets and elect officers.
It’s kind of like that in all of America. We may complain at the local bars and diners but we pay our taxes and go to sleep at night pretty sure other countries won’t invade us. We don’t “go to the meetings.” Heck, if more than half of us vote it’s a benchmark.
Many things have gone wrong in government and we usually don’t find out until it becomes too big for the corporate media to ignore. Kind of like Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair, where guys like Elliot Abrams and Ollie North were convicted of crimes. Abrams was pardoned by George H.W. Bush.
Now Rummy is looking longingly at using death squads in Iraq modeled after Reagan’s cockamamie Iran-Contra idea. From Sojourners: “Is it merely coincidence that President Bush appointed Elliot Abrams in mid-2003 to be his senior advisor on the Middle East?”
“The ‘Democracy Option’ disappears in Iraq.”
It is difficult to keep your heart these days.
Also from Sojourners and the daily dig, “silence is betrayal.” Don’t let even your town council member steal a dime, don’t let your government steal your country’s soul.
"A time comes when silence is betrayal. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought, within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Turn your back on lies today. Turn your back on Bush.
Burning the candle at both ends
Here’s how one and one equal zero in the Bush economic doctrine: Tax cuts have improved the economy, helped create jobs. The economy is growing.
Social Security is in crisis and must be handed over to Wall Street to save it. This will cost three trillion dollars and we’ll have to borrow it to “save” Social Security.
Hmmm. If the economy is growing and jobs are being created because of tax cuts, and if Bush is going to make those tax cuts permanent, then the Social Security trust fund surely must grow, too.
The numbers Bush uses to create the crisis in the minds of those stupid enough to keep accepting twisted logic from this White House are based on the most pessimistic economic forecast his geniuses of propaganda can fake. So Bush wants to take your retirement (all of it, for the poor elderly) and roll the dice with his investment banker buddies.
It would be like taking grandmother’s money to Vegas on the chance she may go broke before she dies, even though you might calculate she has enough to live to be a hundred and twenty.
One end of the candle, tax cuts for the wealthy/crushing debt for generations to come, is burning. Think about that today while America in Washington “celebrates freedom,” prepared to light the other end of the candle. The elite, powerful, and rich are really celebrating the freedom to pick our pockets.
Can’t think of a better man to carry a lantern of truth for the people than Paul Krugman, interviewed by Rolling Stone:
RS: What would you say to college students and young workers who are convinced they'll never see a dime of the money they put into Social Security?
Paul Krugman: You've been sold a scare story. Right now Social Security has a large and growing trust fund -- a surplus that has been collected to pay for the surge in benefits we'll experience when the baby boomers start to retire. If you're twenty now, you'll be hitting retirement around 2052. That's the year the Congressional Budget Office says the trust fund will run out. In fact, many economists say it may never run out. If the economy continues to grow at an average rate, the trust fund could quite possibly last forever.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Stewart fires Tucker Carlson;
Moyers makes O’Reilly look like
a fool without uttering a word
Tucker Carlson’s boss seems to agree with Jon Stewart. He is bad, hurting America. Bye-bye bow tie.
You’ll remember Sponge Boy Bill O’Reilly, he of Fox “News,” he who dallied a bit too much explaining what he’d do with one of his female underlings if he got her in the shower. O’ Reilly, who went around thumping his chest about his former employer, Inside Edition, and his show winning the prestigious Peabody Award for Journalism, when it was really a Polk Award won a year before he joined the show?
Now he’s slamming one of the finest journalists ever to file a story. From Media Matters:
FOX News host Bill O'Reilly, whom Media Matters for America named "Misinformer of the Year" for his 75-plus documented lies, distortions, and mischaracterizations in 2004, attacked retired PBS host and Peabody Award winner Bill Moyers for the December 17 episode of PBS's NOW, which criticized what Moyers called O'Reilly's and FOX News' "partisan agenda." On the January 5 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly called Moyers "totalitarian," claimed Moyers "finds it morally offensive to hear points of view with which he disagrees," and suggested that "he ought to give back his Peabody."
Don’t expect to hear him read my email to you on The Factor.
Billy:
You are not even qualified to sharpen Bill Moyers’s pencil, sponge boy. Mr. Moyers is one of the finest journalists in America. You couldn’t even get near the copy desk of professional journalism. I think you should apologize to Mr. Moyers on the air.
--Tom Todaro
Duluth, Georgia
Maybe the bosses at Fox will follow CNN's lead and help clean up a little air pollution. Bye-bye Billy? Fat chance now that Rupert Murdoch is buying back all shares in Fox properties.
Grocery lists online
There's a Web site with scores of found grocery lists posted. Thanks to John Dufresne on his blog.
Before leaving for work a minute ago, Mary handed me this list:
Fluoride (tooth-decay-fighting wash)
Sugar
They each do a good job but I think sugar has the edge.
Moyers makes O’Reilly look like
a fool without uttering a word
Tucker Carlson’s boss seems to agree with Jon Stewart. He is bad, hurting America. Bye-bye bow tie.
You’ll remember Sponge Boy Bill O’Reilly, he of Fox “News,” he who dallied a bit too much explaining what he’d do with one of his female underlings if he got her in the shower. O’ Reilly, who went around thumping his chest about his former employer, Inside Edition, and his show winning the prestigious Peabody Award for Journalism, when it was really a Polk Award won a year before he joined the show?
Now he’s slamming one of the finest journalists ever to file a story. From Media Matters:
FOX News host Bill O'Reilly, whom Media Matters for America named "Misinformer of the Year" for his 75-plus documented lies, distortions, and mischaracterizations in 2004, attacked retired PBS host and Peabody Award winner Bill Moyers for the December 17 episode of PBS's NOW, which criticized what Moyers called O'Reilly's and FOX News' "partisan agenda." On the January 5 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly called Moyers "totalitarian," claimed Moyers "finds it morally offensive to hear points of view with which he disagrees," and suggested that "he ought to give back his Peabody."
Don’t expect to hear him read my email to you on The Factor.
Billy:
You are not even qualified to sharpen Bill Moyers’s pencil, sponge boy. Mr. Moyers is one of the finest journalists in America. You couldn’t even get near the copy desk of professional journalism. I think you should apologize to Mr. Moyers on the air.
--Tom Todaro
Duluth, Georgia
Maybe the bosses at Fox will follow CNN's lead and help clean up a little air pollution. Bye-bye Billy? Fat chance now that Rupert Murdoch is buying back all shares in Fox properties.
Grocery lists online
There's a Web site with scores of found grocery lists posted. Thanks to John Dufresne on his blog.
Before leaving for work a minute ago, Mary handed me this list:
Fluoride (tooth-decay-fighting wash)
Sugar
They each do a good job but I think sugar has the edge.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Bush’s profound analysis:
They fear freedom
(I wrote this for Jan 8)
One of his own generals warns of a “spectacular attack” within the three weeks leading up to elections in Iraq. Bush can only respond with this:
“’I know it’s hard but it’s hard for a reason,’ Bush said, adding that the insurgents are trying to impede the elections because they fear freedom,” according to The Associated Press.
I guess in his fairy tale the “insurgents” are a different breed of human being, one that despises freedom and longs for hegemony, one-party rule, maybe despotism, kind of like what Bush and the right wing are attempting right here, right now in America.
Or maybe it's the Bush Brand of science: Some human beings fear freedom and would rather be told what to do, how to live. Is he getting his anthropology from Pat Roberson? Jerry Fallwell?
Maybe, just maybe, Bush made a mistake by invading Iraq. Ask him. It’s a tough question for him to answer. The press caught him off guard last time it asked him if he made any mistakes in his first four years. He still hasn’t been able to muster an answer. I suggest we bloggers and the mainstream press put it in writing as an essay question and give him a few weeks to respond. It’s hard work. He’s working hard. Tell it to the Army Reserve now facing forced service of up to two years in Iraq while their families fall apart at home. Tell it to two members of my family on their way back to Bush’s tragic mistake of a war. Tell it to the Iraqis without a country and without much hope for years to come. Tell it to the native police and military we’re trying to piece together—it is hard work, going to work everyday with the specter of getting blown to smithereens.
Countdown to the next presidential press conference, Day One.
I welcome all comments, especially from the fifty-nine million idiots who asked for a return of this madness.
They fear freedom
(I wrote this for Jan 8)
One of his own generals warns of a “spectacular attack” within the three weeks leading up to elections in Iraq. Bush can only respond with this:
“’I know it’s hard but it’s hard for a reason,’ Bush said, adding that the insurgents are trying to impede the elections because they fear freedom,” according to The Associated Press.
I guess in his fairy tale the “insurgents” are a different breed of human being, one that despises freedom and longs for hegemony, one-party rule, maybe despotism, kind of like what Bush and the right wing are attempting right here, right now in America.
Or maybe it's the Bush Brand of science: Some human beings fear freedom and would rather be told what to do, how to live. Is he getting his anthropology from Pat Roberson? Jerry Fallwell?
Maybe, just maybe, Bush made a mistake by invading Iraq. Ask him. It’s a tough question for him to answer. The press caught him off guard last time it asked him if he made any mistakes in his first four years. He still hasn’t been able to muster an answer. I suggest we bloggers and the mainstream press put it in writing as an essay question and give him a few weeks to respond. It’s hard work. He’s working hard. Tell it to the Army Reserve now facing forced service of up to two years in Iraq while their families fall apart at home. Tell it to two members of my family on their way back to Bush’s tragic mistake of a war. Tell it to the Iraqis without a country and without much hope for years to come. Tell it to the native police and military we’re trying to piece together—it is hard work, going to work everyday with the specter of getting blown to smithereens.
Countdown to the next presidential press conference, Day One.
I welcome all comments, especially from the fifty-nine million idiots who asked for a return of this madness.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Iokiyar
Paul Krugman, a national treasure, writes the Cliff Notes for his bad novel in today’s NYT. Krugman, and other intelligent people with hearts of gold, represents another reason why you should keep your television off: You’ll rarely find them there. Television is for Republicans.
Another novel idea
Wither principle, Democrats?
Anna Quindlen is another gem in the mud pile left over from the 2004 elections. Doing what is right rather than what gets you elected? Interesting.
Presidential Medal of Fiefdom
More evidence Bush should rename the medal. Here’s the big winner, out of government but back in the news today. For what? Well apparently he was asleep at the wheel pre-9/11, too. Fire up the furnace, boys, with all the incompetence we can expect in the next four years, we’ll need the metal!
Mower Relief
I’ve been away for a while; had this Santa thing to attend to, then developed a program to raise money for tsunami relief in South Asia. If all goes well, volunteers will be maintaining the little landscaped entrance to our neighborhood rather than a lawn service. Mower Relief will donate the savings to Oxfam or some such reputable organization like World Vision. We could raise as much as three or four thousand dollars. I'll present the plan at the annual budget meeting next week. Break a leg.
Paul Krugman, a national treasure, writes the Cliff Notes for his bad novel in today’s NYT. Krugman, and other intelligent people with hearts of gold, represents another reason why you should keep your television off: You’ll rarely find them there. Television is for Republicans.
Another novel idea
Wither principle, Democrats?
Anna Quindlen is another gem in the mud pile left over from the 2004 elections. Doing what is right rather than what gets you elected? Interesting.
Presidential Medal of Fiefdom
More evidence Bush should rename the medal. Here’s the big winner, out of government but back in the news today. For what? Well apparently he was asleep at the wheel pre-9/11, too. Fire up the furnace, boys, with all the incompetence we can expect in the next four years, we’ll need the metal!
Mower Relief
I’ve been away for a while; had this Santa thing to attend to, then developed a program to raise money for tsunami relief in South Asia. If all goes well, volunteers will be maintaining the little landscaped entrance to our neighborhood rather than a lawn service. Mower Relief will donate the savings to Oxfam or some such reputable organization like World Vision. We could raise as much as three or four thousand dollars. I'll present the plan at the annual budget meeting next week. Break a leg.
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