you know what i think?

from the post, about bush meeting with dissidents:

"He likes to talk to people who have experienced these things firsthand," said Michael J. Gerson, Bush's strategic policy adviser, who sat in on the Kang meeting Monday. "But there clearly is a signal here and a symbol that human rights is central to our approach, that there is a kind of moral concern."

he wants a first person account of what it feels like, the grisly bastard, so that when he uses those techniques in gitmo and other secret prisons he's got stashed around the world, he'll know how much pain it really does inflict. he's a sick bastard. i know this from the bottom of my heart.

talk about corruption

from today's papers:

The NYT and WSJ mention that the Bush administration official who tinkered with a global-warming report—and resigned quietly last Friday night—has been hired by ExxonMobil, which has distinguished itself with its hard-line opposition to global-warming initiatives.

think what you want. i know what transpired here.
God these people make my skin crawl.

the perfect picture of how you can have a war when you WANT one

more british memos are surfacing, and it paints the best picture yet of how scheming and conniving these sons of bitches, who wanted war so bad they could already taste iraqi blood, acted.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fg-britmemos15jun15,0,4080933,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines

if ever there was a reason for us Americans to be shameful of our country, it was during the run-up to the invasion of iraq.

the best quote of the papers (and there are many good quotes to come from them) i found was this:

"The U.S. has lost confidence in containment," ... "Some in government want Saddam removed. The success of Operation Enduring Freedom [the military code name for the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan], distrust of U.N. sanctions and inspection regimes, and unfinished business from 1991 are all factors."

monkey see, monkey do

i can just see the criminals now: "well, Americans get to do it!"

KIRKUK, Iraq -- Police and security units, forces led by Kurdish political parties and backed by the U.S. military, have abducted hundreds of minority Arabs and Turkmens in this intensely volatile city and spirited them to prisons in Kurdish-held northern Iraq, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials, government documents and families of the victims.

Seized off the streets of Kirkuk or in joint U.S.-Iraqi raids, the men have been transferred secretly and in violation of Iraqi law to prisons in the Kurdish cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah, sometimes with the knowledge of U.S. forces. The detainees, including merchants, members of tribal families and soldiers, have often remained missing for months; some have been tortured, according to released prisoners and the Kirkuk police chief.

The abductions have "greatly exacerbated tensions along purely ethnic lines" and endangered U.S. credibility, the nine-page cable, dated June 5, stated. "Turkmen in Kirkuk tell us they perceive a U.S. tolerance for the practice while Arabs in Kirkuk believe Coalition Forces are directly responsible."

--source

the busheviks forgot to tell these people: do as i say, not as i do. god they make me sick

more on that santorum donation for services rendered

rendered against the American people. i have just one question i'd like to ask most republicons: WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA?

WASHINGTON - Two days before Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record) introduced a bill that critics say would restrict the National Weather Service, his political action committee received a $2,000 donation from the chief executive of AccuWeather Inc., a leading provider of weather data.
...
Combined, Joel Myers and his brother, Barry Myers, AccuWeather's executive vice president, have donated more than $11,000 to Santorum and the Republican Party since 2003, according to FEC filings compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine, a campaign finance tracking group.

Barry Myers said it was ridiculous to think there was a correlation between the "modest" donations and the filing of the bill.
...
Dan McLaughlin, press secretary for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record) of Florida, which is home to the weather service's National Hurricane Center, said the April 12 donation is suspect. Nelson has written to President Bush in opposition to the bill.

"It certainly raises questions about motivation as to why someone would push a policy that is so obviously crummy," McLaughlin said.

In his letter, Nelson said Santorum's bill would bar weather service forecasters from giving one-on-one interviews to media. He also said it could inhibit pilots' access to data the weather service provides to the Federal Aviation Administration online. When four hurricanes struck Florida last year, the weather service Web site received 9 billion hits, Nelson said.

--source
it's google's cache. for some reason yahoo took it off.

Letter Of The Day II

couldn't let this one slide without recognition.

The National Weather Service and the NOAA are government agencies fully funded by taxpayers' dollars. U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, has backed a bill that would restrict access to the weather information produced by these agencies to a few companies whose intent is to sell it at a profit. In other words, taxpayers will get to pay twice for the same weather report.

At least the guy that mugged me to steal my wallet had the decency to do it on a dark street and attempted to hide his identity with a ski mask. Republicans do it in broad daylight.
-Larry Wohlgemuth,
West Des Moines.

attribution

Letter Of The Day

If John Bolton is acceptable, who is unacceptable? Bolton is not about reforming the United Nations, but about drastically changing it from its original purposes - an instrument to get rid of war.

U.S. treatment of the United Nations is dangerously flawed. Both Democrats and Republicans have damaged the United Nations by sins of omission and commission. No nation has shaped the United Nations as decisively as the United States.

The administration's approach with the Bolton nomination is another effort to damage the United Nations so we can continue our self-fulfilling prophecy of the United Nations not working.
-Robert D. Williams,
Clarinda.

attribution

FINALLY. someone who gets it.

the networks are getting what they wanted

access to the whitehouse for filming.

as long as they went along with karl rove's agenda, they're cleared to film on location.

we'll have to wait and see how republicon they get with the red.

and of course, they're going to take credit

WASHINGTON -- Key Senate Republicans are considering gradually raising the Social Security retirement age as high as 69 over several years as they struggle to jump-start legislation that President Bush has placed atop his second-term agenda, officials said Tuesday.

--the post

didn't the dems first offer that as a starter for 'fixing' the social security 'problem'? what bastards.

another note to bob schieffer

why did you do such a bang up job on the dead soldiers' wives story, to followup with something about someone NObody knows?

ACTION ALERT!

whenever i use ACTION ALERT! in the subject, it will always concern something happening on the hill that requires contacting your representatives that you are unhappy with how our elected officials are acting. that link will provide you with the opportunity to contact your representatives. actions like what we're witnessing now in an effort to silence the truth, must be confronted and defeated. we can not let history repeat itself.

If the Financial Services Committee is the best in the House when it comes to bipartisan comity, then the Judiciary Committee may well be the worst.

In December, ranking Democrat John Conyers (Mich.) began holding “forums” — gatherings with all the trappings of official hearings — after Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) refused to hold hearings on topics Conyers requested. The forums have been held in smaller committee rooms, often with C-SPAN coverage and formal witness lists.

In a sign of how far relationships on the committee have soured, majority staff recently announced a new policy to deny any request from a committee Democrat for the use of a committee hearing room.

Majority spokesman Jeff Lungren said the Republicans have given Democrats three opportunities to make clear that the forums are not official committee business. Nevertheless, Lungren said, in at least one case, members were addressing Conyers as “Mr. Chairman.”

“They were unwilling or unable to make those changes,” Lungren said. “At this point, if they want to hold these forums, they’ll have to find some other place to do it.”
--the hill

hm, two senators living together ....

caught this just now while reading about (mostly democratic) senators being so rich.

Another possible Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) of Kansas, has a blind trust worth $1 million-$5 million as well as bank accounts, stock and a 335-acre grain farm in Linn County in the eastern part of Kansas. The farm generated $7,530 in income last year.

As a fallback, Brownback owns a Washington, D.C., condominium and he rents a room to fellow Republican Sen. Jim Talent (news, bio, voting record) of Missouri, at a cost of $2,500-$5,000 annually.

even at $5,000 annually, that's only $416.66 a month.

WHERE in D.C. can you get a room for THAT?

i'll bet you can find one if you can pick out which one is the top?

brownback - talent

DSM: the memo

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html

you mean were were LIED TO??

seems the notion that madrassas breed terrorism, is as wrong as the notion that we went to war legitimately.

We examined the educational backgrounds of 75 terrorists behind some of the most significant recent terrorist attacks against Westerners. We found that a majority of them are college-educated. Of the 75, only nine had attended madrassas, and all of those played a role in one attack—the Bali bombing. Even in this instance, however, five college-educated "masterminds"—including two university lecturers—helped to shape the Bali plot.

Like the view that poverty drives terrorism—a notion that countless studies have debunked—the idea that madrassas are incubating the next generation of terrorists offers the soothing illusion that desperate, ignorant automatons are attacking us rather than college graduates, as is often the case. While madrassas are an important issue in education and development in the Muslim world, they are not and should not be considered a threat to the United States.

source

uzbeky bushy cowardice

what the fuck is our pentagon putting their dirty criminal fingers in state matters??

Defense officials from Russia and the United States last week helped block a new demand for an international probe into the Uzbekistan government's shooting of hundreds of protesters last month, according to U.S. and diplomatic officials.

--WaPo

Quote of the Day

"This is going to be a case where we trade away the democracy interest for security interests, and as a result pay a price in credibility, in the Muslim world and elsewhere, in terms of our democracy policy."
--Thomas Carothers, who specializes in democracy promotion at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

attribution

Letter Of The Day

All I read is how payday loan stores take advantage of poor people. Why pick on them? They are nothing compared to the "legal fees" charged by some banks.

I deposited money into my US Bank account after 4 p.m. on May 31. It was not credited to my account until June 1, understandable. They credited me only with depositing $100 and held the rest of my deposit until June 2. According to the bank that's legal, and that's the bank's policy.

This caused two checks to bounce even though the money was there. The bank charged me $30 for each check for a total of $60. This is not a new account. It was opened in 2001.

I could have gone to a payday loan "shark" and gotten a $300 loan for only $40. Banks shouldn't be allowed to release only $100 then bounce checks so they can benefit financially by charging ridiculous non-sufficient funds' fees "legally." When I complained to the bank I was quoted the federal regulation that allowed this type of legal fraud.

-J. L. Miller,
Des Moines.

attribution

keth hanson quote

keith is one of those redneck stupido persons, one who's got his head so far up his ass his eyeballs are watchin his stomach.

but he made a quote in the paper today about michael jackson that will haunt him for a long time:

Keith Hanson, Clear Lake, wrote, "What astonishes me most is the number of people who think ‘not guilty' and ‘innocent' are synonyms."

--attribution

i can't WAIT to see some redneck son of a bitch found not guilty of some crime. he'll change his tune in a heartbeat.

my local paper

has this lil' list i'm on, about current events and the pulse of 'the people'. anyway, of course, today's verdict generated a cattlecall, and of course, i responded with:

It made my day to watch foxnews, who all but had Michael Jackson crucified up until the very last minute (I swear you could hear the panting on the open mics). literally choke for words between the first not guilty and the second not guilty.

By the third not guilty, I was literally rolling on the floor laughing my ass off at the sheer pleasure I got from listening to fox news recant what had to have been hours and hours of relentless 'if he's guilty' talk.

There is a God in heaven after all.

it would take tox to where they've been many many times before

listening to fox (as frustrating and gueling as it is, i need to know how they're handling jacko - btw, i have the video off), i heard a slogan one show uses:

we report
you decide.

no no no huney.
fox's correct slogan is

you report
we decide

note to bob schieffer:

you would do well to crawl back into the sunday morning fuckfest you came from. the cbs evening news show is just not for you.

kicking ass.... DAMM what a great name for the new democrat website

and on it, we have a worthy followup to the foulmouthed vice president's recent comments:

Speaking on Fox News yesterday, Dick Cheney said about Governor Dean, "Maybe his mother loved him, but I've never met anybody who does." Leave it to Cheney, who while on a stage called a reporter an "a—hole" and while on the floor of the U.S. Senate told a Senator to "go f—-" himself, to start talking about the Governor's mother.

Besides his trash talking, Cheney also lied about Governor Dean's record during his tirade. The same man who lied about the al Qaeda-Iraq connection being "well established" (and then lied about lying about it) said that Governor Dean "has never won anything".

In fact, leaving aside his unanimous election as DNC Chairman in February, Howard Dean has won more elections than Dick Cheney — including five terms as Governor in a state 20% larger by population than Wyoming, where Cheney was elected to the U.S. House.

And don't look for Cheney to be winning any more elections anytime soon — polls show his lame duck administration to be one of the most unpopular in history, and Democrats to be the party that shares the values (PDF) of more Americans. This administration's time is clearly up — don't expect Cheney at the top of any ticket next time around, because the American people have had enough.

The Governor, for his part, responded to the comments as such: "My view is Fox News is a propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and I don't comment on Fox News."

--source

IT'S ABOUT FUCKN TIME DEMOCRATS GOT SOME ASS KICKING DONE.

NOT GUILTY NOT GUILTY NOT GUILTY

HOW MANY TIMES WILL IT TAKE BEFORE FOX GETS IT?

wanna know how insane rep. steve king is?

this is what he said on the televions program Iowa Press

"We need to get the American people to accept SS reform. If we get them into personal accounts, they will no longer be a LIABILITY to Social Security."
--source

the Whine of the WeeQ

Responding to comments by Vice President Dick Cheney on a Fox News telecast Sunday morning, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told a Chicago audience Sunday afternoon, "My view is Fox News is a propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and I don't comment on Fox News." Dean's comments came at the Rainbow-PUSH coalition conference after he was strongly criticized earlier in the week by Democratic strategist David Axelrod, who said that the party was unlikely to lure Republican voters "if the chairman of the Democratic Party is out there gratuitously characterizing all Republicans in a truly nasty way."

--source

you aint seen nasty motherfuckers

MWAHAHAHAHA

GO DEAN GO!!!!

Joke of the Day

things like this make me cringe, jus knowing that there are people in this world still so ignorant and bigoted. pathetic.

(New York City) The leader of a conservative Christian lobby group says that gays should be required to wear warning labels.

"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," said Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition.

--source

i think the last time they tried this, it didn't turn out too well.

but God will save us

from yahoo

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that between 1,039,000 and 1,185,000 people in the United States were living with HIV in December 2003. The previous estimate from 2002 showed that between 850,000 and 950,000 people had the AIDS virus.


The challenges include overcoming a failure by the government to meet its 2005 goal of cutting in half the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections that have occurred every year since the 1990s. Then, Dr. Robert Janssen of the CDC pledged the government campaign would "break the back" of the epidemic.

CDC officials previously have said the country's HIV infection rate has been "relatively stable" and without change. As the National HIV Prevention Conference was set to begin this week, Valdiserri said no new infection data will be available until next year.

However, recent outbreaks of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in major cities around the country offer a hint that new infections may be as high as 60,000 cases a year, rather than the government estimate of 40,000, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an Emory University professor of medicine.

He added that the higher number is not as surprising as why the country has not been able to curb new infections. He said the CDC hasn't been given adequate resources to tackle HIV prevention and that experts have focused too much on whether it's better to promote abstinence or condom use to stop the spread of the virus.

"We're debating too much what to do and are not doing enough," he said.

NO SHIT SHERLOCK.

mwahahahaha

howard dean's got foxnews in a panty hold. and they're squirming like the worms they are.

read this: cavuto is supposed to be a business show. it was all about dean.

boy, howard's got 'em on the run, and i'm sooooooo happy that he's doing it at their expense.

Quote of the Day

"(Bush) used fear, the fear of the American people to take us into a war that was purely elective."
--General Wesley Clark

attribution

abu ghraib, explained

for those of us that just can't understand how in the world Americans could be involved in something so hideous, here's the take by one of the warriors of truth out there:

video of aiden delgado:
http://gregoire.gnn.tv/blogs/6683/War_Makes_Beasts_of_Men_Aidan_Delgado_Video?r=1

On the classic phenomenon of dehumanizing the enemy via language. Haji:

"In English, or in army usage it has the exact same meaning or connotation as 'gook' or 'charlie' or 'nigger.' it's very very prevalent in the military. only on a handful of occasions did i every hear iraqis referred to as iraqis. The rest of the time it was haji this and haji that...and all of this contributed to an atmosphere that brutalizes civilians and ultimately brutalized the prisoners that we had under our thumb at Abu Ghraib."

On Abu Ghraib:

"when i arrived there i kind've had the opinion that most guys did; you know, that these are the most dangerous people in Iraq, the most deadly criminals...they deserve all this harsh treatment they're receiving. That's what i thought when i got there. but serving at Abu Ghraib i got a chance to find out differently."

As a result of the duty he'd been put on as punishment for filing for Conscientious Objector status he was privy to prisoner paperwork even guards hadn't seen:

"What i found was absolutely stunning. I found that the majority of prisoners at Abu Ghraib hadn't committed any crimes against the coalition -- they hadn't committed violent crimes. They were at Abu Ghraib for petty theft, public drunkenness, forged coalition documents, impersonating a coalition officer, petty nonviolent offenses and they were inside Abu Ghraib with real murderers, real rapists, real insurgents. In addition, a large percentage of those at Abu Ghraib hadn't committed any offense at all. The military had a policy of random sweeps..."

A MUST SEE

got luv eric umansky

he certainly has a way to brighten my day, like today:

That brings us to Number One. A day after the Post broke word of another pre-war British memo, the NYT hops on board. Presumably not content to simply repeat the WP's angle—"MEMO: U.S. LACKED FULL POSTWAR IRAQ PLAN"— the Times gets creative: "PREWAR BRITISH MEMO SAYS WAR DECISION WASN'T MADE." That headline hangs on a single clause of a single sentence in the 2,300-word memo:

Although no political decisions have been taken, US military planners have drafted options for the US Government to undertake an invasion of Iraq.

As it happens, the memo was first obtained by the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sunday Times (U.K.). Its headline: "MINISTERS WERE TOLD OF NEED FOR GULF WAR 'EXCUSE'."

--source

this whole downing street memo: when have you EVER heard the bushites EVER own up to a mistake they've made? i'll tell you: NEVER.

Letter Of The WeeQ

already.

So now the media is beating up Howard Dean because he said the Republican Party is "primarily white Christians." What's next, will he be attacked if he says the sky is blue or the grass is green?

-Jack Rivers,
Polk City.

--attribution

Letter(s) Of The Day

we get two, in one shot today, both dealing with the same topic: medical marijuana. something i am all too familiar with.

After reading the about the displeasure of some of our state officials ("Federal Meth Act Would Overrule State Law," June 8), I have to wonder what these state officials think about last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal marijuana laws overrule state laws protecting the use of marijuana by medical patients. (Iowa has had a medical marijuana law on the books since 1979.)

Do these state officials support state laws that are less restrictive than federal laws, or just state laws that are more restrictive?

I was proud of the three U.S. Supreme Court justices who said the decision on whether to allow medical marijuana should be decided by the states and not the federal government.

If politicians could maintain a consistent, rational approach to drug policy, it might get them further than crying crocodile tears whenever something doesn't go their way.

-Carl Olsen,
Iowans for Medical
Marijuana, Des Moines.

***

Thank you for urging Congress to take action to protect medical marijuana patients ("Doctor or No, Cannabis Is Out," June 7 editorial). However, the Supreme Court did not "strike down" state laws allowing medical use of marijuana. All the court did was maintain the status quo: Patients protected under state law are not free from the possibility of arrest by federal authorities.

However, Congress can change that as soon as this week, when the House considers the Justice Department's appropriations bill. Representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) will propose an amendment barring federal attacks on patients in states where medical use of marijuana is legal.

This humane, common-sense proposal deserves immediate passage.

-Bruce Mirken,
director of communications, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, D.C.

--attribution

socialism for the rich, capitlalism for the poor

good article in the des moines register today:

The most obvious example is the compensation of corporate CEOs. Their obscene pay packages cannot be attributed to the invisible hand of the marketplace. If there were a free market in executives, CEOs would be bidding against one another to see who would work for the lowest salary, just as ordinary workers are pitted against one another to hold down wages. CEO salaries are not set by the marketplace. They are set by compensation committees made up of fellow insiders who have a vested interest in keeping all executive compensation far above what a free market would set.

Socialism for the CEOs. Capitalism for the workers.

democracy, bushevik style

WASHINGTON - A closed-door vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee to expand law enforcement powers under the USA Patriot Act is prompting sharp criticism from some conservative leaders who are otherwise among the most vocal allies of President Bush and the Republican leadership.

While the conservatives have been long-standing critics of the anti-terror law, they lashed out with particular force last week at the White House, members of Congress and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, saying that they expected a more open review of the Patriot Act in which lawmakers would consider limits on some provisions in order to safeguard civil rights.

Instead, they complained, the Senate panel had moved in secret to expand the act. They are particularly upset about the proposed addition to the law authorizing "administrative subpoenas," under which the FBI would be able to obtain a person's medical, financial and other records in terrorism cases without seeking a judge's approval.

Their criticism gathered force as President Bush pressed Congress last week to renew parts of the act that are due to expire at the end of this year.

"It is a slap in the face to the Constitution," said Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, who leads a bipartisan coalition of groups calling for limits on the act, which was passed six weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

--source

we can not allow our government to act in secret. it belies everything the constitution stands for. dictatorships operate in secret.

when can we officially classify something as being on fire?

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=%2Bdowning+%2Bmemo+%2Bbush+%2Bblair

and right next door

courtesy of daily kos:

Saturday afternoon during their annual State Convention at the Park Plaza in downtown Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin adopted the following resolution:

CALLING ON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO INITIATE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH, VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AND DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

YEEEEE HAWWWWW

when repukes eat repukes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican congressman called for a deadline to pull U.S. troops from Iraq, while some other members of President Bush's party urged on Sunday that his administration come to grips with a persistent insurgency and revamp Iraq policy.

--REUTERS

a little too late don't cha think?

as tmooses on DU said:

There were millions saying the reasons for war were bogus back in February of 2003. Where were these conservatives then? Waving their limp little freedom fries around and calling us treasonous-that's what they were doing. The blood of our soldiers and of those tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis's is on their hands.

if there's a God, there will be justice for not only all the iraqi blood, but all of the "coalition" blood.

btw, when was the last time you heard anybody mention 'coalition'? what a farse that was. and MSM fell hook line and sinker. they are the ones whose hands are dripping with blood.

another milestone: U.S. WAR CASUALTY PASSES 1700

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The military announced the killing of four more U.S. soldiers on Sunday, pushing the American death toll past 1,700, and police found the bullet-riddled bodies of 28 people - many thought to be Sunni Arabs - buried in shallow graves or dumped streetside in Baghdad.
--THE WIRES

THIS FUCKN WAR HAS KILLED 1700 OF THE WRONG PEOPLE.

FINALLY..... someone who gets it

"I think the more accurate way to approach this right now is to concede that ... this insurgency is not going to be settled, the terrorists and the terrorism in Iraq is not going to be settled, through military options or military operations," Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said last week, in a comment that echoes what other senior officers say. "It's going to be settled in the political process."

Gen. George W. Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, expressed similar sentiments, calling the military's efforts "the Pillsbury Doughboy idea" - pressing the insurgency in one area only causes it to rise elsewhere.

"Like in Baghdad," Casey said during an interview with two newspaper reporters, including one from Knight Ridder, last week. "We push in Baghdad - they're down to about less than a car bomb a day in Baghdad over the last week - but in north-center (Iraq) ... they've gone up," he said. "The political process will be the decisive element."

--source

Quote of the WeeQ

"But there is some mix of grim appropriateness and shameful symmetry to the fact that we've chosen the one piece of territory in the Americas free of free elections, civil rights and civil liberties to build our own human rights free zone."
--josh marshall

attribution

and finally (yes delores, there is an end in sight)

i came across this while i was reading my mail (where the previous party dish was sourced)

the Q NETWORK

for those still in the unknown voidness of dont care attitudes, it's a television network devoted to gay causes and gay rights advancement. similar to the BET that is STILL on cable.

God how i miss new york

it's been 6.5 years now since i moved out of new york. and at this time of year, usually when my birthday and the gay pride festivities culminate land on the same day (since my birthday is on monday this year, sunday is still observed as a national holiday). but i'll be missing out on events like these:

GAY PRIDE SPECIAL EVENT: The Backdoor to Oz at crobar Alan Cumming hosts CUMMING: the Fragrance launch The premiere of our new Friday night industry party: PLAY Daniel Nardicio and crobar ask on Friday, June 24th: are you a Good Bitch or a Bad Bitch? Welcome to the Backdoor to Oz; a glamorous and sexy exploration of the seedier side of Oz. Flying Monkey Go-Go Boys, Trannie witches, guest appearances by legendary lovers of Oz and nightlife icons, and music keep you dancing till you cross far, far over the rainbow. Don’t miss this legend-in-the-making with Kevin Aviance, Sophia Lamar, Amanda Lepore, The Ones, Harry* and one very special surprise guest! Costumes and stage shows by Jackie 60’s Incredible Chi Chi Valenti. The Reed Room will become the Kansas Kiki Room with music by Lina (formerly Girlina), special guest Michael T, and all your favorite Kansas City hoe…downs. In the Main Room Steve Travolta, DeMarko and Eddie Baez will take turns on the decks for a 12 hour music marathon and production even the Wizard would gag over! Late night hosts Mark Nelson, JR, and the Gay Pimp Johnny McGovern keep the party going all night long. Production by Jackie 60’s Chi Chi Valenti and Joshua Brandt. Don’t forget Chip Chop holding down the Prop Room with the launch of Alan Cumming’s new fragrance: CUMMING and the new, hip PLAY party where fashion collides with music and the denizens of New York City nightlife frolic.

here's a taste of my last party in new york

Joke of the Day

WASHINGTON - Howard Dean is "over the top," Vice President Dick Cheney says, calling the Democrats' chairman "not the kind of individual you want to have representing your political party."

--source

bwahhahahahah
go cheney yourself dick.

and remember china?

ya, that country over there sucking up all OUR oil. the ones that the bushites have been in bed with ever since nixon.

Attempts to input words in Chinese such as "democracy" prompted an error message from the site: "This item contains forbidden speech. Please delete the forbidden speech from this item." Other phrases banned included the Chinese for "demonstration", "democratic movement" and "Taiwan independence".

--source

liars cheats & thieves - a continuation of the ITM series

long ago, i had a series of posts, with the subject being designated by LIARS CHEATS & THIEVES - and then whatever proved it tacked on the end. i posted them in the newsgroup ia.talk.misc. you can take a look at them HERE.

i'm now going to recreate that series here, starting with:

There is no centralized procedure for monitoring scores of contracting firms rebuilding Iraq with U.S. funds, according to the military. The controls that do exist have been criticized for failing to keep track of millions.

Instead, most contracts are monitored by the individual agencies that award them. The Army Corps of Engineers, for example, which issues the bulk of reconstruction work, has its own inspectors and quality assurance monitors. The U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency provides oversight on behalf of the Army for troop support contracts — private firms that do everything from serving meals to washing combat fatigues.

Congress has set aside $18.4 million to help Iraq rebuild its roads, water systems, airports, rail lines, seaports, housing and other needed projects. The total cost of reconstruction has been estimated at $150 billion.

...

Last month, investigators said incompetence and "indications of fraud" was responsible for nearly $100 million in cash not being accounted for by the CPA. That amount included more than $7 million that simply vanished, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, appointed in January 2004 to serve as a U.S. government watchdog for Iraqi reconstruction.

The CPA, predominantly run by Americans, has provided a poor example for reconstruction, critics say. Millions handed out to contractors including Custer Battles has not been accounted for, auditors said.

--source

custer battles? jeeez, doesn't that have a texan sounding name.

remember that wedding party we killed (by accident?)?

KARABILAH, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis inspecting the damage of U.S. air strikes in western Iraq on Sunday challenged American assertions that the raids had killed 40 insurgents, saying there were no guerrillas in the area.

"There were no mujahideen (fighters) or armed men in the area. The planes attacked indiscriminately," said one man, who did not give his name, as he inspected the rubble of a house.

--atribution

looks like THEY LIED again. there were childrens' clothes found at the scene.

and finally, something i was pondering just a moment ago

that if iraqis finally did say, "get out America, get out" and we would have no choice but to get out, wouldn't this be a clear way of the bushites turnin tail and running without having to bear the consequence of losing face?

wouldn't put it past 'em.

i dont understand why iraq, if they truly did have an honest election - where no candidate could say any American had any influence whatsoever - hasn't chased us out already. God knows, we're the reason there IS an insurgency. they're not fighting iraqis, they're killing iraqis FOR HELPING AMERICANS.

remove America from the equation, and you totally end the insurgency. doesn't anybody else out there GET it??

FARPOINT FACTOID

One of the most popular shows on Iraqi TV is a reality program that follows couples as they plan their weddings.
--source

it could be that the Americans are making the tv a hit, hence more people want to be on tv, so they get married more. it could also be a way for american (notice the not-capitalized a) planners using the television as a way of telling iraqis "all is well and going just loverly. see?"

Quote of the Day

"This is not an American puppet government anymore. It's standing up to the United States because it feels it has been elected and has legitimacy."

-A Western diplomat with extensive contacts in Iraq

--attribution

why that diplomat had no name, is beyond me, especially when using unnamed sources is severely frowned upon by so many reich-wing nuts.