Just took my first wheel throwing class at the Worcester Craft Center. It seemed so simple when my teacher demonstrated. Then I got up there and couldn't remember which part of which hand was supposed to push or pull. Centering the clay is much more difficult than it looks. Great fun, though. I returned home covered with mud.
I am learning to throw while standing up. This is unusual. Most people learn on a low wheel while sitting on a small stool. You have to bend forward a little as you work. Many older throwers end up with significant back injuries and back surgeries. I read some articles this summer by a potter named John Glick. He would throw for 8 to 10 hours a day when he was young. I read an article of his from the 1970s where he described the dinnerware sets he made, one of which was purchased by Vice President Walter Mondale. Then I read an article he wrote in the late 1990s where he described learning to throw standing up after having disc surgery on his back. He made his own wheel by building a stand for his old one. I had been wary of the seated throwing position before reading his articles, and they cemented my desire to learn the modern way.
My teacher is Kristin Keiffer. She makes beautiful elegant ware, through a combination of throwing and handbuilding. She throws standing up, and told me she apprenticed with John Glick for a year! Small world. That's when she started to throw standing.
Kristin Keiffer Tea Set
John Glick dinnerware
Throwing is very different than handbuilding. You get and keep the clay so wet. I did make one small pot that wasn't horrible. I didn't have high expectations for my first day so was pleased that I made one thrown pot. There are two women in my class who took their first class last session. They were both amazed that I made a pot worth keeping!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
November 17, 2005: 34 Percent
From the Wall Street Journal, via Suburban Guerrilla, Bush's approval rating has sunk to 34 percent.
Lower
January 12th is looking better and better!
Lower
January 12th is looking better and better!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Another Assistant to the President Commits Treason
Raw Story is reporting tonight that Bob Woodward's source was Stephen Hadley. In June of 2003, Hadley, like I. Lewis Libby, was an Assistant to the President of the United States.
If Bush wasn't such a fucking moron, wouldn't you think he gave the orders to out Plame?
11:15 p.m. update: Dependable Renegade's pics of Hadley, now and then.
If Bush wasn't such a fucking moron, wouldn't you think he gave the orders to out Plame?
11:15 p.m. update: Dependable Renegade's pics of Hadley, now and then.
There Was a Time I Would Have Dismissed This Story as Far Fetched...
That was before the reign of King George the Torturer.
Iraqis Say Troops Caged Them With Lions
Iraqis Say Troops Caged Them With Lions
WASHINGTON - Two Iraqi businessmen, who were imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq, claimed Monday that American soldiers threw them into a cage of lions in a Baghdad palace, as part of a terrifying interrogation in 2003.
The Woodward Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks*
Go read Atrios, he's busy printing all of Bob Woodward's interviews on the Plame investigation.
*apologies to Shakespeare.
*apologies to Shakespeare.
The Curse
Honor can't erase playoff choke image
The Red Sox had the Curse of the Bambino; the Yankees have the Curse of Getting A-Rod.
Not Really News: Oil Company Execs Caught Lying [Again!]
Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force
Perhaps this is why Big Oil's good friend Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, refused Democratic requests to swear in the witnesses. However, their false statements can still be prosecuted:
The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.
In a joint hearing last week of the Senate Energy and Commerce committees, the chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips said their firms did not participate in the 2001 task force. The president of Shell Oil said his company did not participate "to my knowledge," and the chief of BP America Inc. said he did not know.
Perhaps this is why Big Oil's good friend Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, refused Democratic requests to swear in the witnesses. However, their false statements can still be prosecuted:
The executives were not under oath when they testified, so they are not vulnerable to charges of perjury; committee Democrats had protested the decision by Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) not to swear in the executives. But a person can be fined or imprisoned for up to five years for making "any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation" to Congress.
Bob Woodward: Tool of the Bush Administration
Woodward Was Told of Plame More Than Two Years Ago
This is journalism? Telling the public the whole story? Woodward has been commenting on this case for over two years without revealing he is part of it.
He's also been flat-out lying. This is what he said on October 27th on Larry King Live, quoted in this entry on the Huffington Post:
There was no CIA damage assessment.
Bob Woodward. He thought Watergate would provide his epitaph. Instead, I will always think of him as a pathetic little tool of the Bush Administration.
How the mighty have fallen.
Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward testified under oath Monday in the CIA leak case that a senior administration official told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame and her position at the agency nearly a month before her identity was disclosed.
In a more than two-hour deposition, Woodward told Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald that the official casually told him in mid-June 2003 that Plame worked as a CIA analyst on weapons of mass destruction, and that he did not believe the information to be classified or sensitive, according to a statement Woodward released yesterday.
Fitzgerald interviewed Woodward about the previously undisclosed conversation after the official alerted the prosecutor to it on Nov. 3 -- one week after Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted in the investigation.
Citing a confidentiality agreement in which the source freed Woodward to testify but would not allow him to discuss their conversations publicly, Woodward and Post editors refused to disclose the official's name or provide crucial details about the testimony. Woodward did not share the information with Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. until last month, and the only Post reporter whom Woodward said he remembers telling in the summer of 2003 does not recall the conversation taking place.
[]
Woodward never mentioned this contact -- which was at the center of a criminal investigation and a high-stakes First Amendment legal battle between the prosecutor and two news organizations -- to his supervisors until last month. Downie said in an interview yesterday that Woodward told him about the contact to alert him to a possible story. He declined to say whether he was upset that Woodward withheld the information from him.
This is journalism? Telling the public the whole story? Woodward has been commenting on this case for over two years without revealing he is part of it.
"When the story comes out, I'm quite confident we're going to find out that it started kind of as gossip, as chatter," he told CNN's Larry King.
Woodward also said in interviews this summer and fall that the damage done by Plame's name being revealed in the media was "quite minimal."
"When I think all of the facts come out in this case, it's going to be laughable because the consequences are not that great," he told National Public Radio this summer.
He's also been flat-out lying. This is what he said on October 27th on Larry King Live, quoted in this entry on the Huffington Post:
They did a damage assessment within the CIA, looking at what this did that Joe Wilson's wife was outed. And turned out it was quite minimal damage. They did not have to pull anyone out undercover abroad. They didn't have to resettle anyone. There was no physical danger of any kind and there was just some embarrassment.
There was no CIA damage assessment.
In an October 29 article by staff writer Dafna Linzer, headlined "CIA Yet to Assess Harm From Plame's Exposure," the Post reported that the CIA "has not conducted a formal damage assessment, as is routinely done in cases of espionage and after any legal proceedings have been exhausted."
Bob Woodward. He thought Watergate would provide his epitaph. Instead, I will always think of him as a pathetic little tool of the Bush Administration.
How the mighty have fallen.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Republicans to FDNY: Drop Dead
'Promise Broken': N.Y. to Lose 9/11 Aid
This is especially galling because the EPA lied to New Yorkers and worst of all to the workers who worked to clean up the World Trade Center site about the toxic quality of the air at Ground Zero. Think of this every time you hear President Dumbass say 9/11 changed everything, over and over. He lies. Constantly, reflexively, as though he were breathing. If only we had saved canisters of Ground Zero air for him.
WASHINGTON - Congressional budget negotiators have decided to take back $125 million in Sept. 11 aid from New York, which had fought to keep the money to treat sick and injured ground zero workers, lawmakers said Tuesday.
New York officials had sought for months to hold onto the funding, originally meant to cover increased worker compensation costs stemming from the 2001 terror attacks.
But a massive labor and health spending bill moving fitfully through House-Senate negotiations would take back that funding, lawmakers said.
[]
The tug-of-war over the $125 million began earlier this year when the White House proposed taking the money back because the state had not yet spent it.
New York protested, saying the money was part of the $20 billion pledged by
President Bush to help rebuild after the Sept. 11 attacks. Health advocates said the money is needed to treat current and future illnesses among ground zero workers.
The Senate voted last month to let New York keep the $125 million, but the House made no such move. House and Senate budget negotiators then decided to take the money back, lawmakers and aides said.
Top New York fire officials recently lobbied Congress to keep the funding. Fire and police officials say they worry that many people will develop long-term lung and mental health problems from their time working on the burning pile of toxic debris at ground zero and they want to use the money to help them.
This is especially galling because the EPA lied to New Yorkers and worst of all to the workers who worked to clean up the World Trade Center site about the toxic quality of the air at Ground Zero. Think of this every time you hear President Dumbass say 9/11 changed everything, over and over. He lies. Constantly, reflexively, as though he were breathing. If only we had saved canisters of Ground Zero air for him.
Monday, November 14, 2005
When Will Bush Hit 30?
As in 30% approval?
From Talking Points Memo, Bush's last 9 polls show an approval high of 39% (ABC/Washington Post, 10/30 to 11/2/05) and a low of 35 (CBS 10/30 - 11/1/05).
I say he hits 30 on January 12, 2005. I'm going to be in New York City that day, and I look forward to seeing the big 3-0 on the ticker in Times Square.
Leave your predictions in comments. Closest wins a pot!
From Talking Points Memo, Bush's last 9 polls show an approval high of 39% (ABC/Washington Post, 10/30 to 11/2/05) and a low of 35 (CBS 10/30 - 11/1/05).
I say he hits 30 on January 12, 2005. I'm going to be in New York City that day, and I look forward to seeing the big 3-0 on the ticker in Times Square.
Leave your predictions in comments. Closest wins a pot!
Pretty Loser Wins AL MVP
Alex Rodriguez Wins AL MVP Award
A-Rod is the Anna Kournikova, the Pavel Bure, of baseball: pretty loser. He's got the numbers, all right, if only you don't look at one crucial component: his numbers in the clutch. Clutch (close-and-late) hits, a statistic in which David Ortiz lead the majors; A-Fraud wasn't even in the top 50.
Need I remind you that David Ortiz has a World Series ring, and Slappy McBluelips has none?
This award is a travesty. David Ortiz is the true MVP.
I wonder if the repulsive one, the CHB, voted for David Ortiz?
A-Rod is the Anna Kournikova, the Pavel Bure, of baseball: pretty loser. He's got the numbers, all right, if only you don't look at one crucial component: his numbers in the clutch. Clutch (close-and-late) hits, a statistic in which David Ortiz lead the majors; A-Fraud wasn't even in the top 50.
Stats Inc. describes close-and-late situations as ones that occur from the seventh inning on, with the batting team ahead by a run or tied or the tying run on base, at bat or on deck. Ortiz leads the majors with 33 close-and-late RBIs. Rodriguez is not even in the top 50.
Need I remind you that David Ortiz has a World Series ring, and Slappy McBluelips has none?
This award is a travesty. David Ortiz is the true MVP.
I wonder if the repulsive one, the CHB, voted for David Ortiz?
Thursday, November 10, 2005
I'm With The Champ On This One
Bush IS crazy.
At the White House, Prizes for 14 Champs
Medal of Freedom Ceremony Shows Ali as Fast as Ever
At the White House, Prizes for 14 Champs
Medal of Freedom Ceremony Shows Ali as Fast as Ever
Aretha Franklin was teary-eyed, Carol Burnett was teasing, Alan Greenspan was reliably taciturn, and "The Greatest of All Time" stole the show when President Bush bestowed the Medal of Freedom on them and 10 others in a White House ceremony yesterday.
Bush, who appeared almost playful, fastened the heavy medal around Muhammad Ali's neck and whispered something in the heavyweight champion's ear. Then, as if to say "bring it on," the president put up his dukes in a mock challenge. Ali, 63, who has Parkinson's disease and moves slowly, looked the president in the eye -- and, finger to head, did the "crazy" twirl for a couple of seconds.
The room of about 200, including Cabinet secretaries, tittered with laughter. Ali, who was then escorted back to his chair, made the twirl again while sitting down. And the president looked visibly taken aback, laughing nervously.
Was Ali making a political statement? In his remarks about the fighter, Bush mentioned the Olympic gold medal, the grit, "the Ali shuffle, the lightning jabs . . . the sheer guts and determination he brought to every fight." He did not mention Ali's very public opposition to the Vietnam War, which led the prizefighter to lose his boxing license for three years when he refused to serve in the Army.
Or was the boxing legend living up to another trait the president noted, his penchant for psyching out the challenger?
The Nine Million Dollar Meeting
Lobbyist Sought $9 Million to Set Bush Meeting
Jeez, if they charged this much to meet with Bush, what would it cost to meet Cheney?
And....very interesting....what sworn Bushco enemy was the former Ambassador to Gabon? Why, Joseph Wilson, that's who. Maybe that's why Bush the Dumber took the meeting. Looking for more dirt.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 - The lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of a West African nation to arrange a meeting with President Bush and directed his fees to a Maryland company now under federal scrutiny, according to newly disclosed documents.
The African leader, President Omar Bongo of Gabon, met with President Bush in the Oval Office on May 26, 2004, 10 months after Mr. Abramoff made the offer. There has been no evidence in the public record that Mr. Abramoff had any role in organizing the meeting or that he received any money or had a signed contract with Gabon.
Jeez, if they charged this much to meet with Bush, what would it cost to meet Cheney?
And....very interesting....what sworn Bushco enemy was the former Ambassador to Gabon? Why, Joseph Wilson, that's who. Maybe that's why Bush the Dumber took the meeting. Looking for more dirt.
We Got Rid of Saddam and Brought the Iraqis....Napalm
From Altercation, via booman tribune:
US Army Admits Use of White Phosphorus as Weapon
US Army Admits Use of White Phosphorus as Weapon
That's right. Not from Al Jazheera, or Al Arabiya, but the US fucking Army, in their very own publication, from the (WARNING: pdf file) March edition of Field Artillery Magazine in an article entitled "The Fight for Fallujah":"WP [i.e., white phosphorus rounds] proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects on them with HE. We fired 'shake and bake' missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out."
In other words the claim by the US Government that White Phosphorus was used only for illumination at Fallujah had been pre-emptively debunked by the Army. Indeed, the article goes on to make clear that soldiers would have liked to have saved more WP rounds to use for "lethal missions."
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Maybe If We Play "Hotel California"* Over and Over
Would Theo change his mind & return to the Red Sox? Rectifying the biggest mistake the Sawx have made since that whole Bambino thing? A girl can dream, can't she?
Peter Gammons, reporting for ESPN: Bowden, Beattie to interview for Red Sox GM post
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald: Next Sox GM: Epstein? Rumors persist door’s still open
He Who Must Not Be Named, Boston Globe: Time to kiss and make up
Sox search should look back at Epstein
*
"Welcome to the Hotel California....
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave"
12:30 p.m. update: The Soxaholix sez it ain't gonna happen.
Peter Gammons, reporting for ESPN: Bowden, Beattie to interview for Red Sox GM post
Some in the ownership group hold out hope that Epstein can resolve his differences with Lucchino and return as the GM. Contrary to some reports, Lucchino has not rejected that idea, and wants Epstein back, Gammons reported.
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald: Next Sox GM: Epstein? Rumors persist door’s still open
Multiple Red Sox personnel, several prominently placed in the organization, have quietly been trying to talk Epstein into rejoining the ballclub he left on Halloween when he rejected a three-year, $4.5 million offer. Retaining credibility for Epstein in case he changes his mind remains a significant hurdle to overcome, plus a multitude of organizational issues would have to be resolved.
He Who Must Not Be Named, Boston Globe: Time to kiss and make up
Sox search should look back at Epstein
But we haven't talked much about the obvious choice to fill the position. He's young, talented, experienced, local, and has a World Series ring in his dresser drawer. He was born and raised to be general manager of the Boston Red Sox and he's currently not employed.
The Red Sox should offer the job to Brookline native Theo Epstein.
This is not as stupid as it sounds. Think about it for a moment. There was a lot of emotion involved in young Theo's decision last week. He never really told us why he's not coming back, but he did say he could no longer put his heart and soul into the business of running the Red Sox.
Bet he's having second thoughts about that decision right about now. Bet he'd listen if the Sox reached out.
*
"Welcome to the Hotel California....
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave"
12:30 p.m. update: The Soxaholix sez it ain't gonna happen.
Clean Sweep
Democrats and right-thinkers won almost everything yesterday.
Jon Corzine (D) is the new governor of New Jersey, by a "surprisingly large margin" of 9 points.
Tim Kaine (D) is the new governor of Virginia, 52-46.
The Democratic mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, who endorsed Bush in 2004? He lost to a real Democrat, Chris Coleman, 69-31.
Ah-hold's initiatives were soundly defeated in California. Every one of them.
The christ-o-fascists on the Dover, Pennsylvania school board who added intelligent design to the science curriculum? Replaced by 8 Democrats. Every incumbent lost. (Scientific American chortles, "It's Over in Dover")
Maine rejected a referendum that would have repealed the state's new anti-gay discrimination law.
Only in Tex-ass did a Republican-supported, anti-gay amendment win. And who cares about Tex-ass? Future retirement home of the disgraced, hopefully impeached Bush the Dumber.
Jon Corzine (D) is the new governor of New Jersey, by a "surprisingly large margin" of 9 points.
Tim Kaine (D) is the new governor of Virginia, 52-46.
The Democratic mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, who endorsed Bush in 2004? He lost to a real Democrat, Chris Coleman, 69-31.
Ah-hold's initiatives were soundly defeated in California. Every one of them.
The christ-o-fascists on the Dover, Pennsylvania school board who added intelligent design to the science curriculum? Replaced by 8 Democrats. Every incumbent lost. (Scientific American chortles, "It's Over in Dover")
Maine rejected a referendum that would have repealed the state's new anti-gay discrimination law.
Only in Tex-ass did a Republican-supported, anti-gay amendment win. And who cares about Tex-ass? Future retirement home of the disgraced, hopefully impeached Bush the Dumber.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Send Scooter 30 Pieces of Silver
Libby Establishes a Fund to Help Pay Legal Bills
I'm going to take a sheet of silver wrapping paper & cut out 30 pieces of silver & send them in an envelope for the Scoot.
Just to let him know I care, I'll include a little Bible quote:
"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his own soul?" (Luke 9:25)
I'm going to take a sheet of silver wrapping paper & cut out 30 pieces of silver & send them in an envelope for the Scoot.
Just to let him know I care, I'll include a little Bible quote:
"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his own soul?" (Luke 9:25)
Just Another Sacred Heterosexual Marriage in Kansas
Owners Convicted in Kan. Enslavement Trial
And these people are afraid of gay marriage?
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The married owners of a group home for the mentally ill were convicted Monday of enslaving its residents, forcing them to work naked and perform sex acts, and illegally billing their families and the federal government for therapy.
Arlan Kaufman, 69, and his wife, Linda, 62, were convicted of 30 federal charges, including health care fraud, Medicare fraud, forced labor and holding clients in involuntary servitude at the Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center. Arlan Kaufman also was found guilty of making a false representation.
[]
Federal prosecutors contended the Kaufmans controlled the lives of the mentally ill residents, including forcing them to work on their farm and deciding who could wear clothes.
The couple was accused of forcing residents to masturbate, fondle each other and shave each other's genitals - activities Arlan Kaufman videotaped.
The Kaufmans claimed that nude therapy sessions and other treatment methods had therapeutic value for schizophrenic patients, and that having residents act out problem behavior helped them avoid repeating it. Arlan Kaufman insisted at trial that the residents' behavior was voluntary.
And these people are afraid of gay marriage?
Bush's Latin American Education Continues
Guess who said "Wow! Brazil is big."
Bush’s vision for Latin America
He calls for strong democracies in response to leftists
(tip o' the cap to skippythebushkangaroo)
Bush’s vision for Latin America
He calls for strong democracies in response to leftists
At one point, [Brazilian President] da Silva even exhibited a map of his country, which is larger than the continental United States. "Wow! Brazil is big," [Brazilian foreign minister] Amorim quoted the U.S. president as responding.
(tip o' the cap to skippythebushkangaroo)
President Dumbass Speaks
I couldn't let this little press conference snippet from Bush's trip to the Central American summit go unnoticed. From whitehouse.gov:
President's Remarks to the Travel Pool at Summit of the Americas in Argentina
President's Remarks to the Travel Pool at Summit of the Americas in Argentina
Q Mr. President, you're likely to cross paths with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at this summit. How should Americans think about this President, who has said many hostile things about you and your administration? Do you think of him as another Castro? And if you see him this afternoon, do you have any words for him?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I will, of course, be polite. That's what the American people expect their President to do, is to be a polite person. And I will -- if I run across him, I will do just that.Polite? What, is he regressing to grade school? First thing that jumped into his little head? This is the best he can do to avoid the question? Sad.
My attitude toward any leader -- toward leaders, and I judge leaders based upon their willingness to protect institutions that will -- for a viable democratic society.Is there a coherent sentence, or thought, in the future of this answer?
And to the extent that any leader undermines the free press, we will speak out. To the extent that any leader makes it difficult to worship freely, we will make our positions known. To the extent that the judiciary is not an independent organization -- in other words, to the extent that there's not proper checks and balances, we will express our positions.Undermines the free press? You mean like having your own Assistant (Libby was Assistant to the President, as well as Cheney's Chief of Staff) use the press to play politics with national security? Difficult to worship freely? Like siccing the IRS on a liberal church for opposing your illegal and immoral war? The judiciary is not independent? Like bypassing your judiciary completely for shadowy secret trials? Oh yeah, we'll speak out. Do as we say, not as we do.
And there's ways to do so. We can do so through our embassies, we can do so in forums -- not necessarily singling out a particular country or person, but talking on the positive
Talking on the positive? A new circumlocution from our President Malaprop...
about how important it is to have checks and balances in society, about how important it is to have these institutions so that a single person cannot become the ruler of all people.
Oh, wish that it were so...
I will remind people today at this important summit that -- as we talk about poverty and minority rights, which is of concern to many countries here, that one -- such concerns are our concerns, and that if you're interested in minority rights, the best way to allow minorities to have rights is in a democratic society, where the people actually make the decisions for government.
And so it's a -- I think this is a good forum and a good opportunity to express -- for me to express our country's values. But they're not American values, I keep telling you, these are universal values that are true. That's why my meeting with President Kirchner was -- one of the reasons it was so positive is because Argentina shares the same values that America shares.Ah, Argentina, bastion of liberal values. The country that took in the Nazi war criminals and barred Jews from immigrating after the Second World War, the country of the the dirty war, the military junta, torture and death. Or maybe that's the value he thinks we share? Life is so simple when you are an incurious man who knows nothing of history!
They've been through some difficult experiencesOh, so that's what you call decades of repression and murder...
and making sure that those values are rooted in their societies. Of course I've reminded others, we went through difficult experiences in the past. And we had a Constitution that said everybody is free, but they weren't.And that was the original intent of the Constitution, no? For you originalists out there...
And so it's a -- so what I'll search for in the world, as I think about world leaders, is that commitment, firm commitment to values and institutions that make democracy viable.
World leaders with firm commitment to democratic values, like the Saudis and the Pakistanis?
Thank you all very much, thanks.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Dick Cheney's Chain of Disaster
As usual, James Carroll says it much better than I could:
Deconstructing Cheney
from his opening line:
to his final, damning conclusion:
Read the whole thing; he nails it.
Deconstructing Cheney
from his opening line:
THE INDICTMENT of the vice president's chief of staff for perjury and obstruction of justice is an occasion to consider just how damaging the long public career of Richard Cheney has been to the United States.
to his final, damning conclusion:
Iraq, therefore (including the prewar deceit for which Scooter Libby takes the fall), is simply the last link in the chain of disaster which is the public career of Richard Cheney.
Read the whole thing; he nails it.
Monday, Monday
Why don't she write? Just not inspired this weekend. Sometimes the news gets me down.
How is it possible that a pure evil character like Dick Cheney has been Vice President of this country for 5 years? Not surprising that the man who opposed releasing Nelson Mandela from a South African prison has been the main proponent of Bushco's torture policy. If Alberto Gonzales is Torture Guy, Dick Cheney is Big Time Torture Guy. And without any shame or remorse, he's still advocating to exempt himself and the CIA from US laws banning torture.
And what stalwart defender of freedom has staked out a public position opposing Big Time? Which capital D Democrat leads the anti-torture charge? None that comes to mind. Instead, the politician who is taking on Cheney on torture is tortured POW John McCain. Who's also cozying up to Jerry Falwell this week. Like I said, it's enough to depress an idealistic liberal.
It's a beautiful day. I'm going for a walk.
How is it possible that a pure evil character like Dick Cheney has been Vice President of this country for 5 years? Not surprising that the man who opposed releasing Nelson Mandela from a South African prison has been the main proponent of Bushco's torture policy. If Alberto Gonzales is Torture Guy, Dick Cheney is Big Time Torture Guy. And without any shame or remorse, he's still advocating to exempt himself and the CIA from US laws banning torture.
And what stalwart defender of freedom has staked out a public position opposing Big Time? Which capital D Democrat leads the anti-torture charge? None that comes to mind. Instead, the politician who is taking on Cheney on torture is tortured POW John McCain. Who's also cozying up to Jerry Falwell this week. Like I said, it's enough to depress an idealistic liberal.
It's a beautiful day. I'm going for a walk.
Friday, November 04, 2005
David Ortiz Is MVP
According to the players, that is. Not F-Rod. Ortiz, the true MVP.
Big Papi was voted American League Outstanding Player in the 2005 Players Choice Awards, as voted by his fellow players.
Let's hope the baseball writers do the right thing. Dan Shaughnessy, the cowardly writer/steno who helped run Theo out of town, gets to vote. That makes me sick.
Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, the latest curse-breaking team!
Big Papi was voted American League Outstanding Player in the 2005 Players Choice Awards, as voted by his fellow players.
Let's hope the baseball writers do the right thing. Dan Shaughnessy, the cowardly writer/steno who helped run Theo out of town, gets to vote. That makes me sick.
Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox, the latest curse-breaking team!
Turn the Other Cheek
Now this could make me go to Tex-ass. From ActforLove
Moon the Klan
Wow, now this is a protest we can get "behind" for sure...
http://www.moontheklan.blogspot.com/
Moon the Klan
Wow, now this is a protest we can get "behind" for sure...
http://www.moontheklan.blogspot.com/
US health care: "[T]he highest error rates, most disorganized care and highest costs"
From the WaPo:
For Americans, Getting Sick Has Its Price
Survey Says U.S. Patients Pay More, Get Less Than Those in Other Western Nations
Do not allow the statement "We have the greatest health care system in the world" go unchallenged. It's bullshit. Because of our crazy patchwork system, we pay more for much worse care. And that's people who can afford to pay. There are still some 45.8 million Americans who have no health insurance.
For Americans, Getting Sick Has Its Price
Survey Says U.S. Patients Pay More, Get Less Than Those in Other Western Nations
Americans pay more when they get sick than people in other Western nations and get more confused, error-prone treatment, according to the largest survey to compare U.S. health care with other nations.
The survey of nearly 7,000 sick adults in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and Germany found Americans were the most likely to pay at least $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. More than half went without needed care because of cost and more than one-third endured mistakes and disorganized care when they did get treated.
Although patients in every nation sometimes run into obstacles to getting care and deficiencies when they do get treated, the United States stood out for having the highest error rates, most disorganized care and highest costs, the survey found.
Do not allow the statement "We have the greatest health care system in the world" go unchallenged. It's bullshit. Because of our crazy patchwork system, we pay more for much worse care. And that's people who can afford to pay. There are still some 45.8 million Americans who have no health insurance.
The Incompetence, The Corruption, The Cronyism: November 4, 2005 edition
The Incompetence:
Heckuva Job Brownie, aka Mike Brown, late Director of FEMA, who is still on the federal payroll, is back in the news. Even this kind of breathtaking stupidity can't get the breathtakingly stupid President to just fire your ass.
In Katrina's aftermath, FEMA chief mused about his future
The Corruption:
A 62-year-old Republican state legislator from Hawaii was convicted of sexually molesting a 27 year old woman on an airline flight. Ewwwww. The incident happened on a flight to California, so that's where the trial took place. He didn't even reveal he had been charged until he was convicted.
Testimony against legislator includes details of molestation
The Cronyism:
So, former baseball owners and Republican fundraisers are experts on intelligence? President La La La, I Can't Hear You thinks so:
In the Company of Friends
Bush may be besieged by charges of cronyism, but they don’t seem to have affected his picks for a panel assessing intelligence matters.
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken
Heckuva Job Brownie, aka Mike Brown, late Director of FEMA, who is still on the federal payroll, is back in the news. Even this kind of breathtaking stupidity can't get the breathtakingly stupid President to just fire your ass.
In Katrina's aftermath, FEMA chief mused about his future
On Aug. 31, two days after the storm flooded the city, a FEMA regional director sent Brown an urgent e-mail about patients dying "within hours," a lack of food and water, hundreds of rescues and a situation "past critical."
Brown's response? "Thanks for update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?"
[]
E-mails released last month by Collins' committee showed that Brown and his press secretary, Sharon Worthy, were concerned about time for dinner at a Baton Rouge, La., restaurant and an upcoming TV interview while a FEMA regional director, Marty Bahamonde, warned of the desperate situation at the New Orleans Superdome.
Wednesday's release added further insight into their concerns, with one showing Worthy advising Brown to roll up his sleeves to "just below the elbow" the way President Bush did: "In this crisis and on TV you just need to look more hard-working ... ROLL UP THE SLEEVES."
The Corruption:
A 62-year-old Republican state legislator from Hawaii was convicted of sexually molesting a 27 year old woman on an airline flight. Ewwwww. The incident happened on a flight to California, so that's where the trial took place. He didn't even reveal he had been charged until he was convicted.
Testimony against legislator includes details of molestation
The 27-year-old woman who accused state Rep. Galen Fox of sexually molesting her on a United Airlines flight testified that she awoke to find his hand inside her jeans and rubbing her crotch.
[]
In her statement, the woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, told the FBI that she had taken a sleeping pill because she wanted to rest and fell asleep holding a folded airline blanket on her lap, her arms crossed over her blanket.
She said she awoke to a warm sensation pressing against her crotch. Lifting her blanket, she saw Fox's right hand rubbing her crotch, according to a statement of probable cause filed by Special Agent Rodney G. Fung of the FBI's Los Angeles International Airport Office.
According to the affidavit, the woman jumped up and said, "What the ---- are you doing?" to which Fox allegedly replied, "I touched you, I'm sorry I touched you." The woman alerted her parents who sat across the aisle from her and then notified flight attendants, who moved them to other seats.
[]
The woman testified that Fox apparently unfastened the button and zipper of her jeans, and she awoke to find his hand inside her jeans and groping her, Goswami said.
The Cronyism:
So, former baseball owners and Republican fundraisers are experts on intelligence? President La La La, I Can't Hear You thinks so:
In the Company of Friends
Bush may be besieged by charges of cronyism, but they don’t seem to have affected his picks for a panel assessing intelligence matters.
President Bush last week appointed nine campaign contributors, including three longtime fund-raisers, to his Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a 16-member panel of individuals from the private sector who advise the president on the quality and effectiveness of U.S. intelligence efforts. After watching the fate of Michael Brown as head of FEMA and Harriet Miers as Supreme Court nominee, you might think the president would be wary about the appearance of cronyism—especially with a critical national-security issue such as intelligence. Instead, Bush reappointed William DeWitt, an Ohio businessman who has raised more than $300,000 for the president’s campaigns, for a third two-year term on the panel. Originally appointed in 2001, just a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks, DeWitt, who was also a top fund-raiser for Bush’s 2004 Inaugural committee, was a partner with Bush in the Texas Rangers baseball team.
Other appointees included former Commerce secretary Don Evans, a longtime Bush friend; Texas oilman Ray Hunt; Netscape founder Jim Barksdale, and former congressman and 9/11 Commission vice chairman Lee Hamilton. Like DeWitt, Evans and Hunt have also been longtime Bush fund-raisers, raising more than $100,000 apiece for the president’s campaigns. Barksdale and five other appointees—incoming chairman Stephen Friedman, former Reagan adviser Arthur Culvahouse, retired admiral David Jeremiah, Martin Faga and John L. Morrison—were contributors to the president’s 2004 re-election effort. Friedman also served a year on the intelligence board under President Bill Clinton, who appointed chairmen with very different profiles from Bush's Pioneers: former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. William Crowe, former Defense secretary Les Aspin, former House speaker Tom Foley and former GOP senator Warren Rudman. (Clinton did also appoint two donors who gave $100,000 apiece to the Democratic National Committee: New York investment banker Stan Shuman and Texas real estate magnate Richard Bloch.)
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Thought for the Day
Just remember though. Governor Ryan? Indictment number 66. Fitzgerald has already shown he has superhuman amounts of patience and persistence. So while an indictment would take a good bit more work, if anyone can do it [indict Cheney], Fitzgerald can.
-- Emptywheel, at The Last Hurrah
[George Ryan is the former (Republican, natch) governor of Illinois, indicted by Fitzgerald's office, currently on trial on fraud and racketeering charges.]
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The Gulag Archipelago
From the front page of today's Washington Post:
CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons
Debate Is Growing Within Agency About Legality and Morality of Overseas System Set Up After 9/11
Now that we've taken over and are operating the old Soviet Union secret prisons, what could be next for the Bush Administration? Maybe we could re-open Auschwitz to get rid of those pesky guys at Guantanimo. Because freedom is just one more word for nothing left to lose.
Bush makes Nixon look like a piker.
This is American? I am sickened.
CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons
Debate Is Growing Within Agency About Legality and Morality of Overseas System Set Up After 9/11
The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.
The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.
The hidden global internment network is a central element in the CIA's unconventional war on terrorism. It depends on the cooperation of foreign intelligence services, and on keeping even basic information about the system secret from the public, foreign officials and nearly all members of Congress charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions.
Now that we've taken over and are operating the old Soviet Union secret prisons, what could be next for the Bush Administration? Maybe we could re-open Auschwitz to get rid of those pesky guys at Guantanimo. Because freedom is just one more word for nothing left to lose.
Bush makes Nixon look like a piker.
This is American? I am sickened.
"Of course he's against abortion."
Alito's Mom: 'Of Course, He's Against Abortion'
From the mouths of old people. So we know he passes that ultra-right wing litmus test.
The lefty blogs are calling him "Scalito", for Scalia. If he is confirmed there will be five Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court.
Let's see if the Democrats in the Senate really have a spine.
From the mouths of old people. So we know he passes that ultra-right wing litmus test.
The lefty blogs are calling him "Scalito", for Scalia. If he is confirmed there will be five Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court.
Let's see if the Democrats in the Senate really have a spine.
Not Just a Tired Seamstress
From Common Dreams:
The Real Rosa Parks
by Paul Rogat Loeb
I first learned the "true" story behind Rosa Parks seven years ago while preparing a case for trial. I was trying to come up with a good analogy in a sex discrimination case where my client tried for years to get a job for which she was qualified, for which only men were hired. She didn't have any monetary damages as the law recognizes them, because the job she held instead paid just as much as the one she longed to hold. When I suggested using Rosa Parks as our analogy -- how much could that bus ride have cost, 5 cents, but how much was it really worth, to be treated as a human being -- my friend S asked me if I knew the real story, that Parks was a local NAACP activist. I was shocked, having never heard anything but the sanitized version.
While I was in England most of the English papers printed the true, NAACP activist story. Was that the case here in the US?
The Real Rosa Parks
by Paul Rogat Loeb
We learn much from how we present our heroes. A few years ago, on Martin Luther King. Day, I was interviewed on CNN. So was Rosa Parks, by phone from Los Angeles. “We’re very honored to have her,” said the host. “Rosa Parks was the woman who wouldn’t go to the back of the bus. She wouldn’t get up and give her seat in the white section to a white person. That set in motion the year-long bus boycott in Montgomery. It earned Rosa Parks the title of ‘mother of the Civil Rights movement.’”
I was excited to hear Parks’s voice and to be part of the same show. Then it occurred to me that the host’s description--the story’s standard rendition and one repeated even in many of her obituaries--stripped the Montgomery boycott of all of its context. Before refusing to give up her bus seat, Parks had been active for twelve years in the local NAACP chapter, serving as its secretary. The summer before her arrest, she’d had attended a ten-day training session at Tennessee’s labor and civil rights organizing school, the Highlander Center, where she’d met an older generation of civil rights activists, like South Carolina teacher Septima Clark, and discussed the recent Supreme Court decision banning “separate-but-equal” schools. During this period of involvement and education, Parks had become familiar with previous challenges to segregation: Another Montgomery bus boycott, fifty years earlier, successfully eased some restrictions; a bus boycott in Baton Rouge won limited gains two years before Parks was arrested; and the previous spring, a young Montgomery woman had also refused to move to the back of the bus, causing the NAACP to consider a legal challenge until it turned out that she was unmarried and pregnant, and therefore a poor symbol for a campaign.
In short, Rosa Parks didn’t make a spur-of-the-moment decision. She didn’t single-handedly give birth to the civil rights efforts, but she was part of an existing movement for change, at a time when success was far from certain. We all know Parks’s name, but few of us know about Montgomery NAACP head E.D. Nixon, who served as one of her mentors and first got Martin Luther King involved. Nixon carried people’s suitcases on the trains, and was active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the union founded by legendary civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph. He played a key role in the campaign. No one talks of him, any more than they talk of JoAnn Robinson, who taught nearby at an underfunded and segregated Black college and whose Women’s Political Council distributed the initial leaflets following Parks’s arrest. Without the often lonely work of people like Nixon, Randolph, and Robinson, Parks would likely have never taken her stand, and if she had, it would never have had the same impact.
[]
Think again about the different ways one can frame Rosa Parks’s historic action. In the prevailing myth, Parks decides to act almost on a whim, in isolation. She’s a virgin to politics, a holy innocent. The lesson seems to be that if any of us suddenly got the urge to do something equally heroic, that would be great. Of course most of us don’t, so we wait our entire lives to find the ideal moment.
Parks’s real story conveys a far more empowering moral. She begins with seemingly modest steps. She goes to a meeting, and then another, helping build the community that in turn supported her path. Hesitant at first, she gains confidence as she speaks out. She keeps on despite a profoundly uncertain context, as she and others act as best they can to challenge deeply entrenched injustices, with little certainty of results. Had she and others given up after her tenth or eleventh year of commitment, we might never have heard of Montgomery....
I first learned the "true" story behind Rosa Parks seven years ago while preparing a case for trial. I was trying to come up with a good analogy in a sex discrimination case where my client tried for years to get a job for which she was qualified, for which only men were hired. She didn't have any monetary damages as the law recognizes them, because the job she held instead paid just as much as the one she longed to hold. When I suggested using Rosa Parks as our analogy -- how much could that bus ride have cost, 5 cents, but how much was it really worth, to be treated as a human being -- my friend S asked me if I knew the real story, that Parks was a local NAACP activist. I was shocked, having never heard anything but the sanitized version.
While I was in England most of the English papers printed the true, NAACP activist story. Was that the case here in the US?
Thought for the Day
Received this quote in an email:
"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
--- Sydney J. Harris, American journalist (1917 - 1986)
Things I did not do that I regret: I didn't apply to Harvard, thinking it would be too hard for me. I would have loved it, I now realize. I turned down the honors program at my college; I didn't want to be different than the rest of the students, and I was intimidated by the reading list. I wonder who I would have met. I didn't invite my parents to my swearing-in as a lawyer. I didn't realize it would be such a big deal, in Faneuil Hall, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court presiding.
Live and learn.
"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
--- Sydney J. Harris, American journalist (1917 - 1986)
Things I did not do that I regret: I didn't apply to Harvard, thinking it would be too hard for me. I would have loved it, I now realize. I turned down the honors program at my college; I didn't want to be different than the rest of the students, and I was intimidated by the reading list. I wonder who I would have met. I didn't invite my parents to my swearing-in as a lawyer. I didn't realize it would be such a big deal, in Faneuil Hall, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court presiding.
Live and learn.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Judy In Time(s) Out
The NYTimes gives us its long-awaited "explanation" of the Judas Miller saga:
The Miller Case: A Notebook, a Cause, a Jail Cell and a Deal
I put explanation in quotes because there ain't much there there. No mention of how the earlier, June meeting with Libby was discovered by Fitzgerald, no discussion of the "aspens connected by the roots" letter, and more importantly, Judas
So if she couldn't recall which source told her "Valerie Flame"'s name, what source was she protecting?
I don't get it.
The Times also gives us Judas's own account (btw, Raw Story reporting that she is taking an "indefinite leave of absence, effective immediately"):
A Personal Account
My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room
This line from her fanciful, pretentiously written story gives me hope:
If this were a game of Clue, I'd be guessing the Big Dick in the Oval Office with a w(h)ig and a chimp.
The Miller Case: A Notebook, a Cause, a Jail Cell and a Deal
I put explanation in quotes because there ain't much there there. No mention of how the earlier, June meeting with Libby was discovered by Fitzgerald, no discussion of the "aspens connected by the roots" letter, and more importantly, Judas
[S]pent 85 days in jail for refusing to testify and reveal her confidential source, then relented. On Sept. 30, she told the grand jury that her source was I. Lewis Libby, the vice president's chief of staff. But she said he did not reveal Ms. Plame's name.
And when the prosecutor in the case asked her to explain how "Valerie Flame" appeared in the same notebook she used in interviewing Mr. Libby, Ms. Miller said she "didn't think" she heard it from him. "I said I believed the information came from another source, whom I could not recall," she wrote on Friday, recounting her testimony for an article that appears today.
So if she couldn't recall which source told her "Valerie Flame"'s name, what source was she protecting?
I don't get it.
The Times also gives us Judas's own account (btw, Raw Story reporting that she is taking an "indefinite leave of absence, effective immediately"):
A Personal Account
My Four Hours Testifying in the Federal Grand Jury Room
This line from her fanciful, pretentiously written story gives me hope:
Before the grand jury, Mr. Fitzgerald asked me questions about Mr. Cheney.
If this were a game of Clue, I'd be guessing the Big Dick in the Oval Office with a w(h)ig and a chimp.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Finally: We Got The Number One in Al Qaeda
We've captured the most senior Al Qaeda
....barber.
Really! He gave the best haircuts! You should have seen his scissors fly! The blunt cuts! Oh, and his work with the clippers: chilling in its exactitude! And what a colorist! Worked miracles with extensions! Facial hair a specialty! He could make Osama bin Laden look like George W. Bush in about 25 minutes! He could make any run-of-the-mill insurgent look like the no. 2 man in Al Qaeda!
Coming attractions: Over the next few months, expect that we will arrest 33 or so of the "2nd in command" to this most senior barber.
You think I'm joking, don't you? Gotcha.
Al Qaeda "barber" arrested in Iraq
What's next? The most senior chef? The most senior dialysis nurse? The most senior food taster?
Wanted, dead or alive.
....barber.
Really! He gave the best haircuts! You should have seen his scissors fly! The blunt cuts! Oh, and his work with the clippers: chilling in its exactitude! And what a colorist! Worked miracles with extensions! Facial hair a specialty! He could make Osama bin Laden look like George W. Bush in about 25 minutes! He could make any run-of-the-mill insurgent look like the no. 2 man in Al Qaeda!
Coming attractions: Over the next few months, expect that we will arrest 33 or so of the "2nd in command" to this most senior barber.
You think I'm joking, don't you? Gotcha.
Al Qaeda "barber" arrested in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Iraq said on Saturday that they were holding a man suspected of acting as a barber to senior al Qaeda militants and helping them change their appearance to evade capture.
The man, named as Walid Muhammad Farhan Juwar al-Zubaydi -- "aka 'The Barber,"' the U.S. military statement said -- was arrested in Baghdad on September 24, the day before U.S. troops caught up with and killed a militant they described as the most senior al Qaeda leader in the capital, Abu Azzam.,
"'The Barber's' duties included altering senior al Qaeda in Iraq members' appearances by dying hair color, altering hairstyles and changing facial hair in their efforts to evade capture," the military said in the statement.
Also detained on September 24 was Ibrahim Muhammad Subhi Khayri al-Rihawi, the military said, naming him also as Abu Khalil and calling him a "close associate" of Abu Azzam.
"(He) served as an executive assistant for the terrorist emir. He also acted as a banker for Azzam and stored the terrorist organization's funds so they would not be confiscated should Abu Azzam be killed or captured," it added.
Abu Azzam was described by U.S. commanders after his death as second only to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the Islamist network's organization in Iraq.
U.S. forces are keen to show progress in tracking down insurgents.
What's next? The most senior chef? The most senior dialysis nurse? The most senior food taster?
Wanted, dead or alive.
It's Poison, Poison, I Tell You
From truthout.org, an article originally published in the French paper Le Monde:
We Are All Chemically Contaminated
Years ago I read The Politics of Cancer (1978) [updated & released in 1998] by Dr. Samuel Epstein. He argues that all cancer is environmentally caused.
From a review of his book by Robert Weissman:
We Are All Chemically Contaminated
When one out of two men, one out of three women, today is affected by cancer, it's no exaggeration to talk about an epidemic. Certainly, it's not as visible as the epidemic of the plague. The victims don't die on the street, but the tribute exacted is heavy, with 150,000 deaths a year in France. Risk factors other than chemical substances are implicated (diet, tobacco use ...), but with the evaluation of chemical substances, we know for certain that we can dry up a part of the source of these chronic illnesses. Moreover, it is unacceptable that this public health imperative not be imposed upon the chemical industry.
The volume of chemical substances at a global level has gone from 1 million tons during the 1930s to 400 million tons today! The chemical industry has thus put on the market - without evaluating them - substances that will sometimes be withdrawn once the damage to the population's health is assessed. That's the "proof by people" to demonstrate toxicity that was the rule at the end of many long years. Still, that's only the case for a minority of substances, since for 97% of the substances data is incomplete or nonexistent.
Years ago I read The Politics of Cancer (1978) [updated & released in 1998] by Dr. Samuel Epstein. He argues that all cancer is environmentally caused.
From a review of his book by Robert Weissman:
As Dr. Epstein points out, from 1950 to 1998, the overall incidence of cancer rose about 60 percent, with much higher increases for cancer of some organs. For non-Hodgkins lymphoma and multiple myeloma, the increase has been 200 percent. Breast cancers have increased by 60 percent. Prostate cancer has increased 200 percent. For testicular cancer in men of the ages 28 to 35, there has been a 300 percent increase since 1950.
And don't let anybody fool you into thinking that the cancer rate increase is because the population is getting older -- these rates are age-adjusted. The cancer rates of a group of 50 year old men in 1990, for example, are compared to the cancer rates of a group of men in 1950.
So, why is the cancer establishment losing the war against cancer? "The cancer establishment is fixated on damage control -- diagnosis, treatment and basic genetic research -- and is indifferent, if not sometimes hostile, to cancer prevention -- getting carcinogens out of the environment," Epstein told us recently. "The second factor is conflicts of interests, which are significant when it comes to the National Cancer Institute, but profound and overwhelming when it comes to the American Cancer Society. In the book, I go into great detail on conflicts between the American Cancer Society and the cancer drug industry, the mammography industry, the pesticide industry, and other such industries."
According to Epstein, the outgoing director of the National Cancer Institute left that organization to go to the cancer drug industry. Another NCI director in the 1970s left NCI to go to the American Cancer Society and from there to head up the fiberglass industry (fiberglass is a recognized carcinogen).
Epstein charges that the cancer establishment is misleading people into believing that it is spending a good chunk of its stashed away billions on prevention -- which is untrue.
Farewell, Fans Under Glass
From the Boston Globe:
Opening day for renovations
Maligned .406 Club is the first to go at Fenway
Originally named the "600 Club" (for its 600 seats), the name was changed to the ".406 Club" in 2002 to honor Ted Williams, MLB's last 400 hitter. (Unfortunately, this was 17 days after he died. Couldn't they have done it before then?)
[Speaking of last 400 hitters, did you know that the last 400 hitter in baseball was Artie Wilson of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League?]
We plebians who usually sat in the bleachers always called it "Fans Under Glass".
Reportedly, it changed the wind patterns at Fenway Park, and the players hated that.
Opening day for renovations
Maligned .406 Club is the first to go at Fenway
Originally named the "600 Club" (for its 600 seats), the name was changed to the ".406 Club" in 2002 to honor Ted Williams, MLB's last 400 hitter. (Unfortunately, this was 17 days after he died. Couldn't they have done it before then?)
[Speaking of last 400 hitters, did you know that the last 400 hitter in baseball was Artie Wilson of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League?]
We plebians who usually sat in the bleachers always called it "Fans Under Glass".
Reportedly, it changed the wind patterns at Fenway Park, and the players hated that.
Friday, October 14, 2005
It's All About Appearances, Karl Rove edition
Karl Rove left his house this morning in his Jaguar, then showed up at Federal District Court for his court appearance in a tan Toyota Camry.
The Jaguar
Another view of the Jaguar
Karl looking annoyed getting into the Jag
Karl, leaving court in the tan Camry
CBS video of Karl getting into the not-Jaguar tan Camry
Update, 10/15/05: Today's Washington Post says the getaway car was a Ford Taurus.
The Jaguar
Another view of the Jaguar
Karl looking annoyed getting into the Jag
Karl, leaving court in the tan Camry
CBS video of Karl getting into the not-Jaguar tan Camry
Update, 10/15/05: Today's Washington Post says the getaway car was a Ford Taurus.
Just For Laughs
When Harry met George
By John Kenney, JOHN KENNEY is a humorist who has just finished his first novel.
From the Los Angeles Times, the imagined correspondence of Harriet Miers to "cool" George W. Bush.
By John Kenney, JOHN KENNEY is a humorist who has just finished his first novel.
From the Los Angeles Times, the imagined correspondence of Harriet Miers to "cool" George W. Bush.
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Not much to say today. It's raining. I got my hair cut. Had to replace a mount on my rear tire ($169). It's still raining.
Karl Rove begged not be indicted today, for four hours. The New York Times still isn't talking. Rumor has it that Judith Miller may resign. Good riddance. Josh Marshall asks a couple of interesting questions: What did Harriet Miers know about the Plame outing and the subsequent cover-up? What does she know about what the President knew?
Still waiting for the Bush Administration's traditional post 5:00 p.m. Friday news dump, calculated to draw as little attention as possible to bad news.
No photo ops for Bushie today. Guess the White House didn't like seeing the word "staged" used so much by the MSM.
Hey, did I mention that I'm going to England next week, for two weeks? Whee-hoo!
Publication of this blog will be suspended until November 1st.
Maybe by the time I return it will have stopped raining.
Karl Rove begged not be indicted today, for four hours. The New York Times still isn't talking. Rumor has it that Judith Miller may resign. Good riddance. Josh Marshall asks a couple of interesting questions: What did Harriet Miers know about the Plame outing and the subsequent cover-up? What does she know about what the President knew?
Still waiting for the Bush Administration's traditional post 5:00 p.m. Friday news dump, calculated to draw as little attention as possible to bad news.
No photo ops for Bushie today. Guess the White House didn't like seeing the word "staged" used so much by the MSM.
Hey, did I mention that I'm going to England next week, for two weeks? Whee-hoo!
Publication of this blog will be suspended until November 1st.
Maybe by the time I return it will have stopped raining.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The (Wo)man Behind the Curtain
Here's the official White House bio of the director of Bush's "spontaneous" Q&A today:
Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
So, she's been
a grade school teacher (5 years)
"a" PR Director for the American Red Cross (not "The" Director) (6 years)
"President" of the Washington DC office of PlowShare advertising agency which counts among its clients the American Red Cross. (If you go on PlowShare's website, there's no mention of a President or a Washington DC office. The principals are referred to as "partners". Sounds like a bit of resume puffery to me.)
Then President of her own PR agency, Sodenta. Looking them up on the internets, I suspect a freelancer who incorporated for tax purposes.
Here's the address, on a YourTownMall services directory:
Sodenta Agency
2916 Stuart Drive
Falls Church, VA 22042
Phone: (703) 698-7608
SourceWatch couldn't find any other listing for her agency. Looking at googlemaps, I suspect she ran this out of her home.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. Another PR flack. Because the Bush Administration is all about the PR. No substance. I will say in her defense (no pun intended), like a good elementary school teacher she had those soldiers lined up nicely, well groomed, and they repeated their lines very well.
Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain!
Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Current Assignments: Allison Barber is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications and Public Liaison. In this position, she is responsible for the Department's communication to the men and women of the military, worldwide, and for community relations programs that link citizens to members of the Armed Forces at home and abroad. Ms. Barber is also an Army wife and her husband recently returned from a year's deployment in Iraq.
[]
Past Experiences: Ms. Barber comes to her position with extensive experience in public relations and advertising. Prior to this position, Ms. Barber was the President of Sodenta, her public relations firm in Washington, D.C. Previously, she was President of the Washington D.C. office of PlowShare, a Connecticut-based advertising agency. From 1992 to 1998, she was a Public Relations Director for the American Red Cross. From 1986 to 1991, Barber was a grade school teacher at Merrillville Public School in Indiana and served as Vice President of the Teachers Association.
Education: Ms. Barber holds a BS in Elementary Education from Tennessee Temple University and a MS in Elementary Education from Indiana University.
So, she's been
a grade school teacher (5 years)
"a" PR Director for the American Red Cross (not "The" Director) (6 years)
"President" of the Washington DC office of PlowShare advertising agency which counts among its clients the American Red Cross. (If you go on PlowShare's website, there's no mention of a President or a Washington DC office. The principals are referred to as "partners". Sounds like a bit of resume puffery to me.)
Then President of her own PR agency, Sodenta. Looking them up on the internets, I suspect a freelancer who incorporated for tax purposes.
Here's the address, on a YourTownMall services directory:
Sodenta Agency
2916 Stuart Drive
Falls Church, VA 22042
Phone: (703) 698-7608
SourceWatch couldn't find any other listing for her agency. Looking at googlemaps, I suspect she ran this out of her home.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. Another PR flack. Because the Bush Administration is all about the PR. No substance. I will say in her defense (no pun intended), like a good elementary school teacher she had those soldiers lined up nicely, well groomed, and they repeated their lines very well.
Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain!
Like We Wouldn't Notice
Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Staged
Or as the Wizard of Oz said: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"
Or as the Wizard of Oz said: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"
WANTED: The Banana Republicans
America's Most Wanted
Click on the link to see the poster.
For many years, my dad had a poster hanging in the back of the room where he taught high school social studies. I brought it back for him from my senior trip to Washington, DC. It said "Wanted", and had pictures of Nixon, Haldeman, Erlichman and Dean and all the Watergate conspirators. All but Nixon had "Apprehended" splashed across their pictures.
I've got to dig that poster out.
Click on the link to see the poster.
For many years, my dad had a poster hanging in the back of the room where he taught high school social studies. I brought it back for him from my senior trip to Washington, DC. It said "Wanted", and had pictures of Nixon, Haldeman, Erlichman and Dean and all the Watergate conspirators. All but Nixon had "Apprehended" splashed across their pictures.
I've got to dig that poster out.
When You're a Shiite, You're a Shiite All the Way
From your first cigarette to your last dying day:
From Knight-Ridder:
Sectarian resentment extends to Iraq's army
We are training and arming the Iraqis for their coming civil war. Our troops will be fortunate to be withdrawn before the guns of our trainees are turned against us.
From Knight-Ridder:
Sectarian resentment extends to Iraq's army
The Bush administration's exit strategy for Iraq rests on two pillars: an inclusive, democratic political process that includes all major ethnic groups and a well-trained Iraqi national army. But a week spent eating, sleeping and going on patrol with a crack unit of the Iraqi army - the 4,500-member 1st Brigade of the 6th Iraqi Division - suggests that the strategy is in serious trouble. Instead of rising above the ethnic tension that's tearing their nation apart, the mostly Shiite troops are preparing for, if not already fighting, a civil war against the minority Sunni population.
[]
"In Amariyah last week, a car bomb hit a U.S. Humvee and their soldiers began to shoot randomly. They killed a lot of innocent civilians. I was there; I saw it," said Sgt. Fadhal Yahan. "This happens all the time. If they keep doing this, the people will attack them. And we are part of the people."
Sgt. Jawad Majid chimed in: "We have our marja'iya [the ruling council of clerics led by al-Sistani] and we are waiting for them to decide when the time to fight (the Americans) is, when it is no longer time to be silent."
We are training and arming the Iraqis for their coming civil war. Our troops will be fortunate to be withdrawn before the guns of our trainees are turned against us.
A-HEM
From the smoking gun:
The Harriet And George Letters
Bush-Miers Texas correspondence reveals mutual admiration society
The sycophantic letters of Harriet E. Miers (HEM) to George W. Bush.
My firm had an employee once who wooed me with constant flattery. She wanted to work for me. It was embarrassing, and I never trusted her for a moment because it was so transparently brownnosing.
These letters remind me of that woman. Sad.
I wish some handwriting expert would opine on the flowery, loopy handwriting. Looks like a 9th graders. Apologies to any 9th grader reading this. Mier's handwriting looks like she should be drawing hearts over her "i"s.
Still haven't decided a position on Miers, though I don't think it matters what position the Democrats take on Miers. The right wing is going to take her down.
The Harriet And George Letters
Bush-Miers Texas correspondence reveals mutual admiration society
The sycophantic letters of Harriet E. Miers (HEM) to George W. Bush.
My firm had an employee once who wooed me with constant flattery. She wanted to work for me. It was embarrassing, and I never trusted her for a moment because it was so transparently brownnosing.
These letters remind me of that woman. Sad.
I wish some handwriting expert would opine on the flowery, loopy handwriting. Looks like a 9th graders. Apologies to any 9th grader reading this. Mier's handwriting looks like she should be drawing hearts over her "i"s.
Still haven't decided a position on Miers, though I don't think it matters what position the Democrats take on Miers. The right wing is going to take her down.
Operation Photo Op,George W. Bush to Iraq edition
Just watched President Stupid's photo op with 15 soldiers sitting in formation in camouflage in Iraq. GWB hunched over a lecturn in the White House before a giant TV screen showing the soldiers. I wonder how much this little TV moment cost? Let's see, giant TV screen, cameras and lighting for White House, cameras and lighting for soldiers in Iraq, video conferencing equipment, scriptwriter, days of preparing and rehearsing statements, drycleaning uniforms, and there's much more, I'm sure.
Who wrote the scripts for the soldiers? They're clearly giving prepared speeches. Bush keeps interrupting them.
Bush is standing with his left, twitchy side away from the camera. Someone at the White House must have finally seen the internet video compilation of his jaw tic.
How is that our military men and women are ALL more articulate than their Commander in Chief?
Guess none of those high school dropouts without GEDs the Army is now accepting made the 15 member panel.
All that was missing was the plastic turkey.
Who wrote the scripts for the soldiers? They're clearly giving prepared speeches. Bush keeps interrupting them.
Bush is standing with his left, twitchy side away from the camera. Someone at the White House must have finally seen the internet video compilation of his jaw tic.
How is that our military men and women are ALL more articulate than their Commander in Chief?
Guess none of those high school dropouts without GEDs the Army is now accepting made the 15 member panel.
All that was missing was the plastic turkey.
FEMA: Let Them Eat Beanie Weenies From Florida
Louisianans get few post-Katrina contracts
A Department of Homeland Security official tasked with helping local businesses get post-Hurricane Katrina contracts resigned in frustration last week because he could not secure catering work for local vendors.
Doug Doan, a business liaison at DHS, lined up a group of Louisiana chefs and restaurants to provide 26,000 meals a day in St. Tammany Parish to people without power and unable to cook for themselves.
Instead of the seafood pasta and beef with a red wine mushroom reduction that Doan arranged, box lunches and military rations known as meals-ready-to-eat, or MREs, from outside Louisiana are being served.
Gulf Coast lawmakers, such as Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and other critics have complained about the federal government's failure to steer recovery dollars to businesses in the areas affected by the storm. A list of contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency showed that as of Oct. 3, two of 140 agreements had gone to Louisiana prime contractors.
"Louisiana makes the best food in the world," Doan said Tuesday. "To be bringing in beanie weenies from Florida or peanut butter sandwiches from Ohio at a greater cost ... is an outrage."
The Incompetence, The Corruption, The Cronyism: October 13, 2005 edition
The Incompetence:
We could make this all FEMA, all the time:
DIY Disaster Relief
Mobile Homes, Campers Wait at FEMA Sites
$11 Million a Day Spent on Hotels for Storm Relief
The Corruption:
The law may be catching up with Senator Frist:
SEC Issues Subpoena To Frist, Sources Say
Records Sought On Sale of Stock
The Cronyism:
Great article in the New Republic, outlining the 15 worst hacks in the Bush Administration. Here's just one:
Welcome to the Hackocracy
We could make this all FEMA, all the time:
DIY Disaster Relief
Don’t let anybody kid you. The government response to Hurricane Katrina was not only a disaster when the storm first hit. It’s still a disaster now.
I’ve been talking to medical professionals who have been to the Gulf Coast in the past couple of weeks, and this is what they have told me.
First, FEMA continues to be next to useless. It is not providing relief workers with the access they need to areas crying out for their help. It is not keeping up with bills for the emergency work it has authorized so far. A shockingly large number of doctors and nurses are being told that their services are not needed. Those with the guts and the initiative to go ahead regardless are finding that the exact opposite is true – thousands upon thousands of storm evacuees who have run out of their prescription medications, or require new prescriptions, or need help with a panoply of storm-induced problems, from simple cuts and bruises to infections and depression and suicidal feelings.
Secondly, FEMA and the Red Cross are not talking to each other to sort it all out. At the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana – home to more than 5,000 evacuees – there was, as of a few days ago, no formal on-site medical care. That meant people had the unenviable choice of going to the emergency room of a Lafayette hospital, waiting in line for hours and hoping for the best, or somehow fending for themselves.
Thirdly, the failures of the first six weeks or so since Katrina struck are likely only to compound the problems down the road. Sanitation in the shelters is a nightmare. Some professionals don’t exclude outbreaks of tuberculosis or other diseases one might have associated, pre-Katrina, with an earlier, more backward era.
Mobile Homes, Campers Wait at FEMA Sites
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- More than 9,000 mobile homes and campers meant for the victims of Hurricane Katrina are sitting unused at government staging areas while displaced families continue to live out of tents and shelters.
$11 Million a Day Spent on Hotels for Storm Relief
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - Straining to meet President Bush's mid-October deadline to clear out shelters, the federal government has moved hundreds of thousands of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina into hotel rooms at a cost of about $11 million a night, a strategy local officials and some members of Congress criticize as incoherent and wasteful.
[]
The American Red Cross started the hotel program days after Hurricane Katrina struck, when it became clear that the shelters it had opened were not adequate to deal with the 600,000 to 700,000 families displaced by the storm, a spokeswoman, Carrie Martin, said.
The hotel program was intended to last a couple of weeks but has twice been extended by FEMA. Now Red Cross officials are saying there is no end to the initiative, which pays for 192,424 rooms in 9,606 hotels across the United States, in a range of cities as diverse as Casper, Wyo., and Anchorage, Alaska.
Congress last month appropriated a $62.3 billion for the relief effort, most of it designated for FEMA. The agency had told Congress that it expected to spend more than $2 billion to buy up to 300,000 travel trailers and mobile homes to house displaced residents. The agency also planned to give out $23.2 billion in assistance to victims for emergency needs and for temporary housing and housing repairs.
But the temporary housing program has been troubled since the start, observers say. Instead of setting up as many as 30,000 trailers and mobile homes every two weeks, as of Tuesday, just 7,308 were occupied. Even counting berths on the four ships that FEMA has leased and rooms on military bases and elsewhere, the agency has provided only 10,940 occupied housing units for victims in the three Gulf states.
The Corruption:
The law may be catching up with Senator Frist:
SEC Issues Subpoena To Frist, Sources Say
Records Sought On Sale of Stock
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has been subpoenaed to turn over personal records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe of his July sales of HCA Inc. stock, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
[]
The formal request for documents usually presages an acceleration of a federal probe. In Frist's case, regulators had to proceed with caution due to his status in Congress and their mutual desire to avoid triggering constitutional objections to the release of documents. The disclosure of the subpoena comes as Democrats blasted Frist anew for his financial and personal ties to Hospital Corporation of America, a Nashville chain founded in 1968 by his father and his brother, Thomas Frist Jr. Critics yesterday seized on a report that Frist held a substantial amount of his family's hospital stock outside of blind trusts between 1998 and 2002 -- a time when he asserted he did not know how much of the stock he owned.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Frist earned tens of thousands of dollars from HCA stock in a partnership controlled by his brother, outside of the blind trusts he created to avoid a conflict of interest.
"It seems that for years, Frist may have misled his constituents and the American people about his health care industry stock holdings and the conflict of interest they created as he drafted our nation's health care policy," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "This deal raises even more questions about the Republican culture of corruption in Washington, D.C."
The Cronyism:
Great article in the New Republic, outlining the 15 worst hacks in the Bush Administration. Here's just one:
Welcome to the Hackocracy
11: Patrick Rhode
Acting Deputy Director Federal Emergency Management Agency
As acting deputy director of FEMA, 36-year-old Patrick Rhode had, until recently, the unenviable job of backstopping the hapless Michael Brown, a man who needed much backstopping. Unfortunately, it's not clear that Rhode is much more qualified than Brown to be managing the nation's worst disasters. Before joining FEMA, the biggest disaster he had helped manage was the Small Business Administration (see Hector Barreto)--and even that was something of a stretch. Rhode entered federal government in 2001 as deputy director of advance operations for the Bush White House, a job he had also held for Bush's 2000 campaign. Never fear, though: Rhode has covered disasters--as a TV anchor for local network affiliates in Alabama and Arkansas, in which capacity he developed "an acute interest in what responders do in times of crises." Perhaps not acute enough. He recently said that FEMA's response to Katrina was "probably one of the most efficient and effective responses in the country's history."
High Crimes and Misdemeanors
From attytood "Covering Philly and the world like Cheese Whiz":
The President's day: One high crime and two misdemeanors
The President's day: One high crime and two misdemeanors
Misdemeanor No. 1: In using religion as a key basis for offering Miers a job, the president would appear to have violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Title VII of the law "prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."
Misdemeanor No. 2: More specifically, one could make the case that Bush's actions are also in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, which specifically covers federal employees. According to the same EEOC primer: "The CSRA prohibits any employee who has authority to take certain personnel actions from discriminating for or against employees or applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age or disability."
High crime: As you might expect, the "high crime" here is more serious, and is also the area where it's hardest to argue that the president did not cross the line. We are referring to Article VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
We Must Get Out This Vote!
From Intelligence Squad, via The News Blog:
Bush Approval Is 2% Among Blacks
Bush Approval Is 2% Among Blacks
Apparently, watching thousands of one's people drown, starve and dehydrate while the man responsible for assisting them squeezes a couple of extra days out of his vacation tends to make folks appropriately cranky. According to NBC's Tim Russert, the network's latest poll has only 2% of blacks saying they approve of the job Bush is doing as president. Those are Ku Klux Klan-like levels. I bet Newt Gingrich had better numbers than that among blacks as Speaker of the House during the Clinton impeachment. I bet Jefferson Davis had better numbers as the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Apparently Condi Rice, Minister T.D. Jakes, Ken Blackwell, and a tiny handful of other sellouts are the only black folks left in America still willing to support this monkey.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Who's On First?
I got this from an email; traced it back to about.com:
George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?
Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.
George: Great. Lay it on me.
Condi: Hu is the new leader of China .
George: That's what I want to know.
Condi: That's what I'm telling you.
George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?
Condi: Yes.
George: I mean the fellow's name.
Condi: Hu.
George: The guy in China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The new leader of China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The main man in China!
Condi: Hu is leading China.
George: Now whaddya' asking me for?
Condi: I'm telling you, Hu is leading China.
George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?
Condi: That's the man's name.
George: That's who's name?
Condi: Yes.
George: Will you, or will you not, tell me the name of the new leader
of China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he's dead in the
Middle East.
Condi: That's correct.
George: Then who is in China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir is in China?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Then who is?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Look Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China.
Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.
Condi: Kofi?
George: No, thanks.
Condi: You want Kofi?
George: No.
Condi: You don't want Kofi.
George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk.
And then get me the U.N.
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi?
George: Milk! Will you please make the call?
Condi: And call who?
George: Who is the guy at the U.N?
Condi: Hu is the guy in China
George: Will you stay out of China?!
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi.
George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.
(Condi picks up the phone.)
Condi: Rice, here.
George: Rice? Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we
should send some to the guy in China. And the Middle East. Can you get Chinese food in the Middle East?
George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?
Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.
George: Great. Lay it on me.
Condi: Hu is the new leader of China .
George: That's what I want to know.
Condi: That's what I'm telling you.
George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?
Condi: Yes.
George: I mean the fellow's name.
Condi: Hu.
George: The guy in China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The new leader of China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The main man in China!
Condi: Hu is leading China.
George: Now whaddya' asking me for?
Condi: I'm telling you, Hu is leading China.
George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?
Condi: That's the man's name.
George: That's who's name?
Condi: Yes.
George: Will you, or will you not, tell me the name of the new leader
of China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he's dead in the
Middle East.
Condi: That's correct.
George: Then who is in China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir is in China?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Then who is?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Look Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China.
Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.
Condi: Kofi?
George: No, thanks.
Condi: You want Kofi?
George: No.
Condi: You don't want Kofi.
George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk.
And then get me the U.N.
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi?
George: Milk! Will you please make the call?
Condi: And call who?
George: Who is the guy at the U.N?
Condi: Hu is the guy in China
George: Will you stay out of China?!
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi.
George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.
(Condi picks up the phone.)
Condi: Rice, here.
George: Rice? Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we
should send some to the guy in China. And the Middle East. Can you get Chinese food in the Middle East?
You Know the Bloom Is Off Your Presidential Rose...
...when the Washington Post publishes articles like this:
For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes
For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes
...The president was a blur of blinks, taps, jiggles, pivots and shifts. Bush has always been an active man, but standing with Lauer and the serene, steady first lady, he had the body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere.
The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was "trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression," Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.
When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Be Still My Heart
News Orgs Working On Story Tying Cheney Into Plamegate… Developing…
The Huffington Post | Posted October 11, 2005 07:28 PM
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are working on stories that point to Vice President Dick Cheney as the target of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name.
A Long Line of Power Hungry Warlords
From the Guardian:
Scion of traitors and warlords: why Bush is coy about his Irish links
Tapestry artist reveals ancestors of US president as murderous bunch
God help me, I am distantly related to the Smirking Chimp. My mother, intrepid genealogy researcher, unearthed this fact at the New England Historical Genealogical Society in the 80s. She told my father & I this in an elevator, and a quiet researcher sharing our car sympathized over our sad discovery.
I don't think we're related through the murderous warlord, though. Just a potato farmer.
Scion of traitors and warlords: why Bush is coy about his Irish links
Tapestry artist reveals ancestors of US president as murderous bunch
God help me, I am distantly related to the Smirking Chimp. My mother, intrepid genealogy researcher, unearthed this fact at the New England Historical Genealogical Society in the 80s. She told my father & I this in an elevator, and a quiet researcher sharing our car sympathized over our sad discovery.
I don't think we're related through the murderous warlord, though. Just a potato farmer.
This Made Me Laugh
Perplexed by This Pick
Julie (Harriet), Link (Clarence), and Pete (Antonin). I can just see it. Wasn't Clarence still 3/5 of a person in 1805? Harriet didn't exist, constitutionally speaking.
I can't decide where to come down on Harriet. Obviously, she's in Bush's hip pocket. But she's at least taken a few positions in her life that I would agree with (favoring gay rights, etc.). If we defeat her, will we get an even more right-wing wingnut, a la Clarence Thomas, with a better resume, that the Republican majority (55-45) in the Senate will vote in no matter how horrible the record or hateful the beliefs?
Let's hope we get some frogmarching news in the next few days to take our minds off this conundrum. I fear there are no good answers.
I have nothing against Miers, though I probably will once she dons those black robes and starts voting on cases I care about. Over the years, the president has had more than enough time to peer deeply into her heart, or her soul, or wherever it is he looks to discern what the person under scrutiny thinks about Roe v. Wade . I'm betting that she's no David Souter -- that she quickly signs up with the Scalia-Thomas fringe, even if she lacks Antonin Scalia's right-wing erudition or Clarence Thomas's persecution complex. They'll be like a middle-aged Mod Squad, a trio of groovy avengers fighting for truth, justice and the American Way circa 1805.
Julie (Harriet), Link (Clarence), and Pete (Antonin). I can just see it. Wasn't Clarence still 3/5 of a person in 1805? Harriet didn't exist, constitutionally speaking.
I can't decide where to come down on Harriet. Obviously, she's in Bush's hip pocket. But she's at least taken a few positions in her life that I would agree with (favoring gay rights, etc.). If we defeat her, will we get an even more right-wing wingnut, a la Clarence Thomas, with a better resume, that the Republican majority (55-45) in the Senate will vote in no matter how horrible the record or hateful the beliefs?
Let's hope we get some frogmarching news in the next few days to take our minds off this conundrum. I fear there are no good answers.
Louisiana Death Toll 1021; Many 9th Ward Homes Still Not Searched
From Scout Prime (via First Draft, via Norwegianity, via Newsfare. Whew!)
NOLA Lower 9th Ward: Residents Not Getting In,
Who Will Search Homes for Bodies?
LA [Louisiana] Death Toll: 1021
NOLA Lower 9th Ward: Residents Not Getting In,
Who Will Search Homes for Bodies?
LA [Louisiana] Death Toll: 1021
The Incompetence, The Corruption, The Cronyism: October 11, 2005 edition
The Incompetence:
Hey, what's a little money between Republicans and their corporate friends?
Government Can't Explain Increase in 2002 TSA Contract
Homeland Security Office Says It Lacks Documentation on $343 Million Change
The Corruption:
Corruption begins at home:
Coalition leader faces sex abuse allegations
The Cronyism:
For a guy who hates my chosen profession, Bush appoints a lot of Republican crony lawyers. Maybe he thinks "lawyer" is a synonym for "jack-of-all-trades"?
to protect our country from a worldwide avian flu pandemic
Hey, what's a little money between Republicans and their corporate friends?
Government Can't Explain Increase in 2002 TSA Contract
Homeland Security Office Says It Lacks Documentation on $343 Million Change
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the government changed a contract to hire federal airline passengers screeners in a way that cost taxpayers an additional $343 million. More than three years later, officials cannot explain exactly why.
Homeland security officials say they have no memos, e-mails or other paperwork to document the reason for the change, as required by federal contracting regulations. They have also offered accounts of the decision that conflict with internal government documents obtained by The Washington Post.
The modification to the contract involved switching the interview sites for tens of thousands of airline passenger screener jobs from a contractor's own assessment centers to hotels and luxury resorts.
The change added hundreds of millions of dollars to a contract that increased from $104 million to $741 million in nine months. Federal auditors later called into question $303 million of that spending.
The Corruption:
Corruption begins at home:
Coalition leader faces sex abuse allegations
Law enforcement officials said Saturday they are investigating complaints that Louis Beres, longtime chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon, molested three female family members when they were pre-teens. []
The Oregonian talked to three of Beres' female relatives, including two who told reporters that he molested them. All three said they have been interviewed for several hours by detectives.
"I was molested," said one of the women, now in her early 50s. "I was victimized, and I've suffered all my life for it. I'm still afraid to be in the same room with (Beres)." []
Beres is also former chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party.
The Cronyism:
For a guy who hates my chosen profession, Bush appoints a lot of Republican crony lawyers. Maybe he thinks "lawyer" is a synonym for "jack-of-all-trades"?
to protect our country from a worldwide avian flu pandemic
estimated to kill millions...awol assigns the task to a former lawyer for amtrak. guess he figures he'll sue it or run it into the ground. our country is cooked.
Dog F-Rod
A-Rod: 'I played like a dog the last five days'
A-Rod wilts in dog days
2-15 (.133), 5 K in 2005 ALDS vs Angels
A-Rod wilts in dog days
ANAHEIM - After good games or bad, Alex Rodriguez has a habit of jutting out his bottom lip so it curls into a pout. It's a pose that stains his cover-boy charm.
Appearances can be deceptive. When A-Rod truly connects with other humans, when he looks them in the eye rather than at a spot on their forehead, he can be quite enchanting. The trouble, as with most everything regarding A-Rod, is deciphering the authentic from the fake. Even the man at the center understands he sometimes creates nearly as many questions as he does answers.
The Real Louis Freeh
Or Louie, as I prefer to call him. The FBI guy, now dumping on Clinton? Here's the skinny:
Freeh at Last: Revenge and Revisionism at the FBI
Freeh at Last: Revenge and Revisionism at the FBI
Freeh's Republican "way of thinking" - and disdain for Bill Clinton - was perhaps best expressed in a note he sent Whitewater special counsel Ken Starr upon the latter's departure. Freeh praised Starr, saying "we have all been greatly impressed with your sacrifice, persistence, and uncompromising personal and professional integrity."
Monday, October 10, 2005
A Fraud Helps Yankees Out Of Playoffs
Smarting as I am over the Red Sox drubbing by the Pale Hose, the only consolation for me is if the Yankees lose. Hurray, tonight I get my wish. Angels-White Sox for the American League title.
A-Rod, Mr. "MVP" in the minds of Yankees fans, gets up in the 9th, the Yankees down by 2, Jeter on first, no outs. What does he do, Mr. MVP? He of the 2 for 14 hitting "streak" in this series? He of the .321 season average, 48 homers, 130 RBIs? He does what A Fraud does best. Nothing. No, worse than nothing. He hits into a double play, wiping Jeter off the board too.
David Ortiz is the American League MVP, and A-Rod is just a fraud.
Well, there will be no gloating at the family picnic year, by either me or my Yankee-loving relatives.
A-Rod, Mr. "MVP" in the minds of Yankees fans, gets up in the 9th, the Yankees down by 2, Jeter on first, no outs. What does he do, Mr. MVP? He of the 2 for 14 hitting "streak" in this series? He of the .321 season average, 48 homers, 130 RBIs? He does what A Fraud does best. Nothing. No, worse than nothing. He hits into a double play, wiping Jeter off the board too.
David Ortiz is the American League MVP, and A-Rod is just a fraud.
Well, there will be no gloating at the family picnic year, by either me or my Yankee-loving relatives.
Sue Judy Miller: Criminals Shouldn't Profit
This letter was published in the Elkhart Truth (Indiana):
I second that emotion.
Jailed reporter shouldn't profitJudy Miller, the New York Times reporter who spent 85 days in jail for criminal contempt for failing to provide the name of a source who divulged the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, has reportedly inked a $1.2 million book deal.
Many incidents revolving this case cause an eyebrow to raise.
First, the "leak" is attributed to Mr. Bush's senior political strategist, Karl Rove. Now the focus has shifted to I. Lewis Libby, Mr. Cheney's chief of staff. Hmmm, is Mr. Libby simply an administrative scapegoat (and hence, sacrificial) to protect Mr. Rove?
Additionally, Ms. Miller used unreliable and gullible reporting practices when she announced that Iraq was developing WMDs. She was then reckless (some would say criminal) in reporting the name of an active CIA operative. And now she is reportedly going to profit from her story.
I believe the state of New York needs to sue Ms. Miller under the Son of Sam laws, which prohibit criminals from profiting from their criminal actions.
Or maybe she can come up with yet another scapegoat to take the fall.
KEVIN EGELSKY
Elkhart
I second that emotion.
Will The Traitors Go Frogmarching In, Hurrah, Hurrah?
From thinkprogress:
Kristol: “One or More Indictments in the Next Three Weeks”
I heard Jeffrey Toobin on CNN last week say that the only person who would spend time in jail is Judy Miller. That's before Judy, Judy, Judy found her other notebook, with the notes from her June conversation with Scooter.
Funniest line of the week in Blogtopia? Jane Hamsher of firedoglake:
Kristol: “One or More Indictments in the Next Three Weeks”
Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol on Fox News Sunday:Criminal defense lawyers I’ve spoken to who are friendly to the administration are very worried that there will be one or more indictments in the next three weeks of senior administration officials, just looking at what Fitzgerald is doing and taking him at his word, you know, being a serious prosecutor here. And I think it’s going to be bad for the Bush administration.
Someone like Bill Kristol doesn’t get information like this by accident. It’s being fed to him so, if there is an indictment, he can prepare the base. Towards the end of the segment, Kristol got started, saying, “I hate the criminalization of politics.”
The best way to stop the criminalization of politics is to get the criminals out of politics.
I heard Jeffrey Toobin on CNN last week say that the only person who would spend time in jail is Judy Miller. That's before Judy, Judy, Judy found her other notebook, with the notes from her June conversation with Scooter.
Funniest line of the week in Blogtopia? Jane Hamsher of firedoglake:
Of all the amazing discoveries. She's the fucking Indiana Jones of dust bunnies, that one.
Recruiting, Bush Administration Style
Family feels misled by recruiter
Kingston student to be sent to Iraq
The recruiter lied to the kid and his parents. He could finish school and wouldn't be called up for that four period.
We'll do anything for sausage for the Iraq machine.
Now here's a great name for a liar: Sergeant Jason M. Whipkey
Kingston student to be sent to Iraq
The recruiter lied to the kid and his parents. He could finish school and wouldn't be called up for that four period.
We'll do anything for sausage for the Iraq machine.
Now here's a great name for a liar: Sergeant Jason M. Whipkey
News You Won't Hear On MSNBCNNCNBCFOXNN Today
From the NY Times:
Names of the Dead
Names of the Dead
Published: October 10, 2005
The Department of Defense has identified 1,946 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans on Saturday:
CABINO, Shayne M., 19, Lance Cpl., Marines; Canton, Mass.; Second Marine Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
CHERAVA, Nicholas O., 21, Cpl.; Ontonagon, Mich.; Second Marine Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
FRYE, Jason L., 19, Pfc.; Landisburg, Pa.; Second Marine Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
KENNY, Patrick B., 20, Lance Cpl., Marines; Pittsburgh; Second Marine Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
McVICKER, Daniel M., 20, Lance Cpl., Marines; Alliance, Ohio; Second Marine Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
RAINES, Carl L. II, 20, Lance Cpl., Marines; Coffee, Ala.; Second Marine Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Because P.R. Is All They Do
From The Emperor Has No Clothes Dept.;
Bush Works to Reassure G.O.P. Over Nominee for Supreme Court
You were thinking she would rise or fall on her merits? That's funny. She has no merits.
Bush Works to Reassure G.O.P. Over Nominee for Supreme Court
Behind the scenes, Republican allies of the White House said they were trying to put together a public relations strategy to combat the mounting criticism over the Miers nomination.
You were thinking she would rise or fall on her merits? That's funny. She has no merits.
Republican Generosity
That's an oxymoron.
Earthquake death toll crosses 40,000
Relief effort under way for quake victims
Even less than the $400,000 the US initially offered after the tsunami struck last year.
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken
Earthquake death toll crosses 40,000
Relief effort under way for quake victims
United States
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, said the United States will provide $100,000 in emergency relief funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Even less than the $400,000 the US initially offered after the tsunami struck last year.
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken
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