BE HAPPY!!!

Be happy, you aren't these people. (by way of Brian Flemming) You aren't filled with as much fear and hate as they are. That said... While Phelps little inbred clan (can you spot the one with the third head?) tells a chilling fact. Most religions, if not all, basically believe what Phelps' believes. They are right. You are wrong. You are going to hell. The only difference is how active a part the true believers have to play. Sadness. Tags:religion

Sea Lions Killing Off A Species?

DIE SEA LION FIEND!! Above the spillways of Bonneville Dam, Darrell Schmidt patrolled with his shotgun, drawing a bead on furry brown California sea lion heads popping up from the Columbia River and blasting off a beanbag round. All spring he was part of a nonlethal, and not very effective, effort to keep the federally protected animals from gobbling threatened spring chinook salmon as they schooled up at the dam's fish ladders en route to upriver spawning grounds. Of course, the REASON these fish are threatened is because of man's overfishing. Am I the only one who sees the parallel between this and how we are dealing with global warming and emerging economies? Tags:Global Warming

Giuliani Ousted From Iraq Study Panel

Rudy was too busy making money hand over fist to bother with the war He cited "previous time commitments" in a letter explaining his decision to quit, and a look at his schedule suggests why -- the sessions at times conflicted with Giuliani's lucrative speaking tour that garnered him $11.4 million in 14 months. (from newsday, actually) How sad is it that Mitt is looking like best in show? Tags:Rudy Giuliani Iraq presidential campaign Republicans

Robots Take Cars Hostage

Can't get your car? Try rebooting It amazes me that some folks have zero understanding of how we relate to software, technology, and it's creators. The robot that parks cars at the Garden Street Garage in Hoboken, New Jersey, trapped hundreds of its wards last week for several days. But it wasn't the technology car owners had to curse, it was the terms of a software license. The garage is owned by the city; the software, by Robotic Parking of Clearwater, Florida. In the course of a contract dispute, the city of Hoboken had police escort the Robotic employees from the premises just a few days before the contract between both parties was set to expire. What the city didn't understand or perhaps concern itself with, is that they sent the company packing with its manuals and the intellectual property rights to the software that made the giant robotic parking structure work. Tags:software Robot Garage

We're still looking for WMDs????

End Looms for Iraq Arms Inspection Unit I really thought this was a joke... What I find funny is that, every once in a while, you'll see some delusional twit make some statement about how WMDs of some flavor were found. And I know that's simply untrue. How do I know? Because if WMDs had been found, the White House would have been singing and dancing in the streets. Thats how I know. Tags:WMD Iraq

Richard Cohen: Racist Or Snob?

The Runaway Train That Hit Scooter Libby (through atrios, and more than a few others) Is there any way that this can be construed as something other than elitest at best and racist at worst? As any prosecutor knows -- and Martha Stewart can attest -- white-collar types tend to have a morbid fear of jail. He might as well have said "Well, those darkies, they do love pickin' cotton. That ain't no white man's job." Tags:Richard Cohen Scooter Libby racism

Drunken sex=rape?

Sex with a woman who is drunk may soon be rape Might be happening in the UK soon. Now, there's no question that slipping a girl a 'mickey' is rape. And, there's no question that women shouldn't just 'walk it off' or 'lay there and try to enjoy it', as some morons would advise. And, there's no question that many women are victims of 'date rape' (I fucking hate that term. Raping someone is raping someone. It doesn't matter if you know them or bought them dinner first). But what does this say about personal responsibility? Doesn't this make it as if all women are, basically, victims? FURTHER, if the man is drunk as well, why isn't it the woman's job to tell him 'no'? Or is it only women who lose their ability to consent? Think of what this is saying about women. Maybe they are the fragile, helpless creatures from some Dickens' novel, fainting away with the vapors or at the sight of a bared chest. Even worse...if a woman, after she's gotten drunk, is no longer able to give consent, and can't be held responsible for ending up in bed with someone, how can you hold her responsible for, say, getting into her car and running someone over? She's obviously completely incapable of judging the potential results of, well, anything she does. How can you be responsible for some of your actions, but not for others? Tags:rape alcohol feminism

Bush Doesn't Support The Troops

Bush Proposes Cutting Spending For The Armed Forces Most recently, Democrats added $17 billion to an Iraq war funding bill, money not sought by Bush. All told, Democrats plan spending increases for annual agency budgets of about $23 billion above the White House budget request. House GOP conservatives have pledged to come up with the votes needed to uphold any Bush vetoes. "I am not alone in my opposition," Bush said, stressing that 147 Republicans in the House have pledged to stand with him. "These 147 members are more than the one-third needed to sustain my veto of any bills that spend too much." But this is the funny bit... "The American people do not want to return to the days of tax-and-spend policies," Bush said in his radio address. See, the thing is, 'tax and spend', whether you approve of it or not, at least makes sense, mathematically. For the past 6 years, BushCo have been behind a policy of 'spend and lower taxes', which a 3rd grader could find the logical flaw in. Tags:Bush

RNC Emails Destroyed? Thats a crime, boys.

YES, destroying emails, using RNC emails for government business IS a crime I only hope Congress can actually follow through. Tags:Karl Rove Destroyed Emails RNC

Why Dems Have A Hard Time Winning

How Democrats Keep losing Is there ANYONE out there who would have voted for Bush if Al Gore had made the following speech regarding Columbine, after Bush's non-answer? Governor, I walked with those shocked and grieving parents, teachers, and children at Columbine; I shed tears with them; and I delivered a eulogy that Sunday by their graveside. I remembered with them the heroism of their beloved coach and teacher Dave Sanders, who bravely led so many to safety but never made it out of the building himself. I remembered with them a young girl named Cassie Bernall, whose final words were "Yes, I do believe in God." I just told you how the woman who bought the guns that took the lives of Dave Sanders and Cassie Bernall wouldn't have done it if she'd just had to fill out a form and show a photo ID. And you still can't feel for Coach Sanders' wife and children, who'll never wrap their loving arms around him again? You still can't weep for Cassie's parents? You still think it's sensible to require someone to show a photo ID to cash a check but that it's too much to ask that they show an ID to buy a handgun? Americans do have a clear choice in this election. And it is about a culture of life. They can do something to honor the lives of those who died that day at Columbine. Or they can vote for a man who, as governor of Texas, signed a law allowing people to bring guns into church. Tags:Al Gore Gun Control progressive politics

Controversial Islamist author slams Darwin

Creationism doesn't end with Christianity "I think there is not a single person who has read my book and who does not believe there is no evolution," he said. There's a whole lot of negatives in that sentence. Anyhow, I am also completely unsurprised. If you honest;y believe that God wants you to wage war against people who do not hold your faith, and that he will reward you for becoming a martyr, then the idea that God made the world by snapping his fingers, well, that doesn't sound so crazy. I mean, martyrdom requires you to really commit to something, and believing in Creationism is a pretty casual thing. I wonder... Many Christians want the end of the world. Many Muslims seem to be working towards that (Sorry, but its true). What more natural an alliance could you wish for? (I really have to read his book "A Historical Lie: the Stone Age".) Tags:Islam religion creationism

Al Gore Doesn't Take Lip From The Media

You can't mess with him, Diane SAWYER: And another point you say, "If Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, the president took us into a war he didn't have to. Three thousand Americans and countless Iraqis died unnecessarily." Are you saying, in this book and this morning, that Americans -- 3,000 of them -- died unnecessarily? GORE: See, that's the kind of buzzword approach: "Is it an unnecessary death?" No. Those who serve our country are honored in memory and those who are still serving are always honored. That's not the question. There is hardly anybody in America left, Diane, who doesn't believe that it was a terrible mistake to invade a country that didn't attack us. Interestingly, Clinton did something similar a few months back on Fox with Chris Wallace. He simply would not let himself be bullied or manipulated. He called Wallace on it, and wouldn't relent. The thing is, I have always known Clinton to be a smart man, and Gore as well. To be honest, I don't think you get to the White House without being intelligent. GW may have the wisdom of a sack of rocks, but I doubt he's actually a moron. I can best sum up the difference between them with an analogy. Some people are just plain old good atheletes. These people have a natural talent that allows them to play sports, run fast, whatever. It came to them. Most don't have that, and they have to work harder to get as far. The thing is, natural talent does limit out. If you don't learn the new plays, if you don't learn how to read an opponant, you are just out of luck. The guy who has to work, though, has no choice but to laern those things. He has nothing to fall back on. He works, he learns, he gets better and better. He doesn't just 'do it', he understands the game. More topically, look at the most recent American Idol. Blake Lewis was not, in fact, the most talented voice there. But he understood music. He could make his own. I'm not putting down Ms. Sparks, or any of the other contestants. I'm sure that (at least some of them) worked very hard and practiced and all that. I'm just saying that Blake, once he gets his foot in the door, is more likely to have a long-lasting career in the music industry because he isn't relying on 'talent'. ANYHOW, isn't it interesting to watch these two guys, Bill and Al, take the bull by the horns? I wonder, what if all politicians decided that they weren't going to let the media push them around, weren't going to let the other side freely spread lies about them? And I'm talking about people on both sides. I really, REALLY, doubt that all those men up there during the recent Republican debate actually don't want gays to be out in the military. I find it even harder to believe that none of them believe in evolution. But if they were honest, they'd lose votes. The only way around that is to be open and blunt all the way. Tell people what you actually believe. Don't take a hit without hitting back. Be fighters. Tags:presidential election Al Gore Bill Clinton Fox News Assault On Reason MSM

CIA Secret Prisons Confirmed

Forgot about those secret prisons? A new report by the Council of Europe leaked Thursday to the Guardian and the New York Times confirms a March, 2007 RAW STORY report identifying a secret Central Intelligence Agency detention facility at Stare Kjekuty in northeastern Poland. Nothing like violating freedom to preserve freedom. Hey, didn't Saddam haul people in and lock them away in secret without trial or anything resembling due process just cause he felt they MIGHT be a threat? Oh, right, thats Saddam. Its nothing like what the CIA is doing. Tags:Secret Prisons War On Terror

Stem Cell Bill

Bush Will Veto Stem Cell Bill I can sympathize with people who believe that life begins at conception who oppose harvesting stem cells from women lining up for the 50 bucks. If such a nightmare is what this bill would bring about. However, what this bill does is allow stem cells to be harvested from embryos created by in vitro fertilization. At fertility clinics. That are going to be destroyed. So, really, what Bush is saying is that its OK to destroy life to create life, but it isn't OK to destroy life to save lives. Another example where the religious right and conservatives are extremely focused on when life begins, but not so much on anything after that. Tags:stem cells religious right

Lieberman Logic: YAY! THEY ARE SLAUGHTERING US!

Lieberman Logic: The more they kill us, the more we must be winning. LIEBERMAN: Well, two parts. Here’s the point: We’re in a war. The surge strategy, which is just beginning to be fully implemented, has worked. It has reduced sectarian deaths, particularly in Baghdad where we’re focused. They ticked back up in the last month. Why did they do that? Because our enemies, the insurgents and Al Qaida — insurgents particularly supported by Iran — see us winning, and they’re doing desperate things. More of them are prepared to blow themselves up to kill Iraqis or American soldiers. Honestly, I'm not sure what I can even say about this. I love this kind of thing...its so wonderfully self-proving. I remember talk after 9/11 procedures had started to be put in place, and our right erroded. There was no way out of the logical hole. a-no attackes happen: the methods must be working. ramp them up. screw the constitution. We must maintain safety! b-attacks happen: we aren't doing enough! ramp it up! screw the constitution! This is war! Tags:LIEBERMAN Iraq

Fox News Proves Our Point

Roger Ailes, owner of Fox News, on the topic of Dems not participating in his 'debate': “the candidates that can’t face Fox, can’t face Al Qaeda. And that’s what they have coming” No one proves Fox News is a bunch of fear-mongering-right-wing-nutjobs better than Fox News. Tags:Fox News presidential+election

MACH 5 MACH 5 MACH 5!!!

MACH 5!!! (I here they are casting keaneu reeves as Chim-Chim) Tags:Speed Racer

And frmo the Department Of DUH

Amp'd learns kids are irresponsible The gold rush of specialized cell-phone companies targeting niche audiences took another hit on June 1 as Amp'd Mobile, an edgy upstart geared to free-spending youths, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. .. By May, the number of nonpaying customers reached 80,000. That's nearly half of Amp'd's current customer base of 175,000 subscribers. Tomorrow, they will be starting a new business offering to handle credit card transactions for heroin. Tags:Amped stupid business ideas How To Lose Money

Lies Lies Lies YEAH!, They're gonna getcha!

link So, at the Republican debate, Mr. Guliani drew a connection between Iraq and terrorism. This connection has been shown to simply not exist. Interestingly, both Gulie and Cheney have talked about this mythical connection in recent days. This is nothing more than playing on people's irrational fears, fears that fly (by definition) in the face of hard facts. Mitt, as well, seems confused about the IAEA. He seems to think that the IAEA didn't go into Iraq until after the war, and so we went in with the information we had at hand. Nice. Except, of course, Hans Blix and his team WERE in Iraq before the invasion. In fact, had Mitt been paying attention instead of…well…whatever else he was doing, he would have noticed that Hans had determined that here were no WMDs, that there was no meaningful intelligence that could seriously support the claim that the IAEA just hadn't found them yet. Lies or ignorance. Which is it, Mitt? The thing is, I've just gotten used to it. I've gotten used to the ChickenHawks tossing these lies around. That’s a bad thing. I think that, at every speaking event, at every single appearance on TV, the Democrats should show up with a written document listing off any of the lies uttered by any Republican. They should start any interview by reading the document, and then providing a web address where people can go and see the entire thing. Don't let one slip get through. Don't let them just make stuff up. If you do, then you don't deserve to win. Stand up. Fight. (Of course, this means that the Dems had best not tell any lies either. Which is a good thing.) Tags:Iraq lies WMD terrorism Republicans presidential election

A division in the abortion battles

A division in anti-abortion ranks Deeply frustrated, several small antiabortion groups have launched a campaign to force their movement back to an absolutist position: No more compromises, no more half-steps, just an all-out effort for an all-out ban. They are making their position clear in full-page ads that will run in conservative publications over the next few months. They are urging donors to stop contributing to groups that focus on making it more difficult — but not impossible — for women to obtain abortions. -- Republican state Sen. Jason Gant argued for a ban with narrow exceptions, to appease voters who had been queasy about the earlier approach. "When you can stop 90% of abortions, that's pretty good. We can try again at a later date to get the other 10%," Gant said. But the state's Right to Life group opposed the exceptions, arguing that "babies conceived of rape and incest deserve to live too," said Lena Jones, the organization's office manager. The deadlock killed the ban before it came to a vote in the state Senate. It seems that some pro-choice people are concerned that this may lead to fighting a battle on two fronts. I think thats silly. I believe its pretty obvious that, if you polled all pro-life people, the vast majority of them would have some issues with a complete ban on abortions. BTW, 'complete ban' means no abortions in the case of incest or rape. There's a reason Roe v Wade is still around. Anyhow, there's no advantage like your opponants fighting among themselves. Tags:abortion