What a Cutie!

Epsilon

Just heard on MSNBC that with Tropical Storm Epsilon this is the 26th named storm of this year, an all time record with the average year having ten named storms:

Tropical Storm Epsilon Forms in Atlantic

As Bad as Saddam

Human rights abuses in Iraq are as bad as they were under Saddam Hussein if not worse, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has said.

"People are doing the same as (in) Saddam's time and worse," Allawi said in an interview published in Britain on Sunday.


Ex-PM: Abuse as bad as Saddam era

Military Dems Running for Congress

nine veterans vying to become the first soldiers of the post-9/11 military to be elected to the House of Representatives, according to party leaders.

They say their experience makes them well-suited to help successfully extricate the United States from Iraq and to more effectively fight the war on terrorism, which they fear is being lost in the Muslim world's court of public opinion.

Eight of the nine are running as Democrats. At least three are lawyers. Most went to the front lines from the Reserves or the National Guard. Some have been recruited for office by party leaders; others say they are trying to get the national parties to pay attention to them.

Veterans take on new battle: run for office
'Fighting Dems' see options in the war against terrorism

Hopeful Prediction!

I hope this comes true:

Quietly, without a shot being fired, a revolution is about to occur in American politics. There is a very strong chance that, one year from now, a woman will be third in line for the presidency of the United States.

If the current trend continues, Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives following the November 2006 congressional elections.

Pelosi May Find Herself Third in Line for White House

Worse War in 2000 Years

There is a remarkable article in the latest issue of the American Jewish weekly, Forward. It calls for President Bush to be impeached and put on trial "for misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 BC sent his legions into Germany and lost them".

To describe Iraq as the most foolish war of the last 2,014 years is a sweeping statement, but the writer is well qualified to know.

He is Martin van Creveld, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one of the world's foremost military historians. Several of his books have influenced modern military theory and he is the only non-American author on the US Army's list of required reading for officers.

Nowhere to run

I Am a Whack Job on the Left

I usually like Chris Matthews, but tonight he said something I believe was just beyond the pale. He said everyone likes Bush except the Whack-jobs on the left:

Matthews video

Dream BIG Democrats

From My DD:

A Platform for 2006: Dream Big, Democrats

by Matt Stoller

1. Impeach the Secretary of Defense and all other responsible parties for incompetence and criminal negligence in the prosecution of the war in Iraq

2. A Constitutional Right to Privacy

3. A Higher Minimum Wage

4. Universal Health Care

5. Universal Free University Education

6. National Mass Transit

7. Full Corporate Governance Reform to End Corporate Corruption

8. National Free Internet Access and Copyright Reform

Sounds good to me!

The 12 Days of Fitzmas

It appears that Fitzmas is not over:

Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the ongoing CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.

In filings obtained by Reuters on Friday, Fitzgerald said "the investigation is continuing" and that "the investigation will involve proceedings before a different grand jury than the grand jury which returned the indictment" against Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

CIA leak prosecutor sees new grand jury proceedings

I'd Watch My Back Scotty

Weinie Wimpy Scotty McClellan has associated Rep Murtha with Michael Moore. Murtha is a former Marine, Viet Nam vet. I'd be a little worried if I were Scotty:


White House spokesman Scott McClellan, in a statement issued with Bush in Pusan, South Korea, said Murtha is a respected veteran and politician "so it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic Party."

Democratic hawk presses for U.S. Iraq pullout

The "DICK" in his Fat Tuxedo

On CNN right now:

Wow the dems are getting mean. Paul Begala just said that the Dick (Cheney) was a fat corpulent guy saying hateful things about democrats. "Who wants to look at this fat guy in a tuxedo talking about democrats." How funny.

Murtha for PRESIDENT

All right a dem with spine. He just stood up to the DICK (Cheney) and said I really like guys with 5 deferments telling me about fighting wars.

YOU GO MURTHA!!

Turning the Corner? Maybe

Conservative Dem and former Viet Nam Vet Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., one of Congress' most hawkish Democrats has called for immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq.

"This is the immediate redeployment of American forces because they have become the target," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., one of Congress' most hawkish Democrats. At times during his remarks to reporters, the decorated Vietnam War veteran was choking back tears.

"....The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion," Murtha said.....

House Democrat wants immediate Iraq pullout

and this from the very conservation National Review online's The Corner:

MURTHA BREAKS [Rod Dreher]
Don't know how many of you caught Rep. John Murtha's very angry, very moving speech just now in which he called on the White House to institute an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. CNN didn't air the entire thing, but as I listened to it, I could feel the ground shift. Murtha, as you know, is not a Pelosi-style Chardonnay Democrat; he's a crusty retired career Marine who reminds me of the kinds of beer-slugging Democrats we used to have before the cultural left took over the party. Murtha, a conservative Dem who voted for the war, talked in detail about the sacrifices being borne by our soldiers and their families, and about his visits out to Walter Reed to look after the maimed, and how we've had enough, it's time to come home. He was hell on the president too.

If tough, non-effete guys like Murtha are willing to go this far, and can make the case in ways that Red America can relate to -- and listening to him talk was like listening to my dad, who's about the same age, and his hunting buddies -- then the president is in big trouble. I'm sure there's going to be an anti-Murtha pile-on in the conservative blogosphere, but from where I sit, conservatives would be fools not to take this man seriously.

Is Chuck Hagel the New Mark Twain?

Mark Twain:
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." --Mark Twain

Chuck Hagel: "To question your government is not unpatriotic -- to not question your government is unpatriotic,"

34% God just Impeach the Bitch

Bush's Approval Rating
Falls Again, Poll Shows

President Bush's positive job rating continues to fall, touching another new low for his presidency, the latest Harris Interactive poll finds.

Bush's current job approval rating stands at 34%, compared with a positive rating of 88% soon after 9/11, 50% at this time last year, and 40% in August.

Merry Christmas Hurricane Victims -- Love, FEMA

FEMA sets Dec. 1 deadline for evacuees to leave hotels

About 150,000 hurricane victims will be affected. Housing advocates say many will likely end up in homeless shelters.

GAG

From Think Progress:

RightMarch.com, a conservative online advocacy group, has launched a campaign trying to get a right-wing musical duo, The Right Brothers, onto MTV.

Well grab your iPods and crank up your speakers, because ThinkProgress has a sneak preview of the Brothers’ new single, “Bush Was Right.” If any song was ever a virtual lock to top the TRL charts, it’s got to be this rockin’ tribute to all things Bush.

Some sample lyrics and an audio excerpt below (and no, this is not a parody):

Freedom in Afghanistan, say goodbye Taliban
Free elections in Iraq, Saddam Hussein locked up
Osama’s staying underground, Al Qaida now is finding out
America won’t turn and run once the fighting has begun

Don’t you know that all this means…
Bush was right! Bush was right!

Real Media | MP3

Jon Stewart reaps another Award

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has added one more plaque to its growing gallery of awards—this time the 2005 Thurber Prize, for the book The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy in Action.

Thurber Prize 2005 Goes to Jon Stewart and 'The Daily Show' Writers

Bodies In NO 9th Ward

How horrible, after calling off the search for bodies, now residents in New Orleans 9th Ward are returning home to find bodies of their loved ones. Why would they call off the search before everyone was found?

Nearly two months after Hurricane Katrina struck and more than two weeks after the official quest for bodies was abandoned, corpses of Ninth Ward residents are being found every day.

The discovery of new remains shows no sign of slowing down: Workers hired by the state remove several ossified bodies each day, many of them discovered by residents returning home.

Corpses still being found in 9th Ward

Scariest President Ever?

From Americablog:

Very disturbing story about Bush's state of mind in the Wash Times magazine

This man is running our country. And he won't speak to anyone - ANYONE - other than Condi Rice, his mom, and Karen Hughes? That leaves out the entire Dept of Defense - kind of important during war time - the CIA, every other agency and the entire White House staff.

It honestly sounds like he's losing control.

And he's in charge of our country.

Not just worst president ever. But quickly becoming scariest president ever.

Let's Just Teach Fairy Tales in Science Class

It appears as if the Kansas Board of education is redefining the teaching of science. Since they want to teach "supernatural" explanations for science, why don't we just teach Snow White and the Seven Drawfs, it makes about as much sense as teaching unknowns that cannot be supported by hypothesis.

Philosophers Notwithstanding, Kansas School Board Redefines Science

The old definition reads in part, "Science is the human activity of seeking natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us." The new one calls science "a systematic method of continuing investigation that uses observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory building to lead to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena."

Adrian Melott, a physics professor at the University of Kansas who has long been fighting Darwin's opponents, said, "The only reason to take out 'natural explanations' is if you want to open the door to supernatural explanations."

Gerald Holton, a professor of the history of science at Harvard, said removing those two words and the framework they set means "anything goes."

How Low Can This Man Go?

NEWSWEEK Poll -- Bush Approval - 36%

Newsweek poll: Just 36 percent of Americans support Bush

"I Was Wrong"

From John Edwards:

I was wrong.

Almost three years ago we went into Iraq to remove what we were told -- and what many of us believed and argued -- was a threat to America. But in fact we now know that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction when our forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda.

It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. It has been hard to say these words because those who didn't make a mistake -- the men and women of our armed forces and their families -- have performed heroically and paid a dear price.

The Right Way in Iraq

Boy I Would Hate to Spend 100,000 on this Education

tin foil hats:

On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets:An Empirical Study

First They Came for the Gays Now They are after YOU

Texas got its ban of Gay Marriage, now look what they are going after:

Texas social conservatives want to translate their resounding victory on a gay marriage ban into broader results: reducing the state's divorce rate and passing a nationwide amendment to prevent same-sex unions.

Gay marriage foes tackle divorce next

Dubya WAAYY Down Even on Fox!

As investigations and accusations surround the White House, the latest FOX News poll finds President George W. Bush's approval rating at a record low for the second time in as many months.

36% -- Disapprove

53% -- Approve

Pat Robertson -- "A Pox on all your houses!"

Crazy fundie Pat Roberson is at it again his rant on those Dover, PA residents who voted against Intelligent Design:

Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them on Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

"....I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city," Robertson said...

Televangelist Robertson warns town of God's wrath

Anwr Off the Table -- Again

How many times will we have to go through this, first on then off, just leave the place alone:

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives abandoned, at least temporarily, a drive to open Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling after concluding on Wednesday the initiative was threatening passage of a huge bill to cut spending.

US House suspends push for Alaska oil drilling

WSJ -- Bush at All Time Low

Why is it that all of us knew all of this last year and only now people are seeing this little smirking chimp for what he really is?

According to the poll, Bush’s approval rating stands at an all-time low of 38 percent, a one-point decline since October; in fact, this is the third consecutive NBC/Journal survey showing Bush at an all-time low on his job approval. And it doesn’t stop there: Approval for his handling of the economy (34 percent), foreign policy (35 percent), terrorism (39 percent), and Iraq (32 percent) have all hit rock bottom.

Bush, GOP mired in political quicksand

OUCH!

Serbs line up for testicle shocks:

Men in Serbia are lining up to have electric shocks delivered to their testicles as part of a new contraceptive treatment.

Serbian fertility expert Dr Sava Bojovic, who runs one of the clinics offering the service, said the small electric shock makes men temporarily infertile by stunning their sperm into a state of immobility.

Poor Babies

Blue Tuesday

Yesterday was a tough, but not unexpected day for the GOP, as Democrats retained control of the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey. California voters, meantime, defeated all eight of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ballot proposals.

Wanna Stay Warm This Winter?

microwave your bra:

For the woman who wants to stay both warm and environmentally conscious this winter -- and isn't bothered by extra bulk under her shirt -- a lingerie maker has unveiled a thick bra that can be heated in the microwave.

Microwave your bra to stay warm this winter

Onward 2006

If anyone had told me I would be watching elections results that had nothing to do with me or my state a year ago, I would have told them they were crazy. But I did last night. It looks good for the dems. Hopefully this will carry into 2006 and we can make gains toward taking back Congress.

Viginia Governor Race -- Tim Kaine (Dem) wins
New Jersey -- Corzine (Dem) wins

Arnold loses all his ballot measures that cost his state a 1/4 of a billion dollars
THE END OF HIM

The crazy Dover, Pennsylvania school board was booted, that means no Intelligent Design will be taught in Science Class.

All in All a good night for us LIBERALS!

BIG BROTHER Bush

White House keeps dossiers on more than 10,000 'political enemies'

Spurred by paranoia and aided by the USA Patriot Act, the Bush Administration has compiled dossiers on more than 10,000 Americans it considers political enemies and uses those files to wage war on those who disagree with its policies.

.....The computerized files include intimate personal details on members of Congress; high-ranking local, state and federal officials; prominent media figures and ordinary citizens who may, at one time or another, spoken out against the President or Administration......

.....Those on the list include former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, former covert CIA operative Valarie Plame, along with filmmaker and administration critic Michael Moore, Senators like California’s Barbara Boxer, media figures like liberal writer Joe Conason and left-wing bloggers like Ana Marie Cox (Wonkette).

“If you want to know who’s sleeping with whom, who drinks too much or has a fondness for nose candy, this is the place to find it,” says another White House aide. “Karl (Rove) operates under the rule that if you fuck with us, we’ll fuck you over......”

Didn't Mama Tell ya Borrowing was BAD!

According to Lou Dobbs George W. Bush has borrowed more money than all 42 other presidents combined!

E-Mail Time Capsule

This is a neat idea, send yourself an email to be delivered in the future. You could be a completely different person 20 years from now. Maybe I will be a rock solid conservative instead of the Michael Moore liberal I am today! Naw, don't think so!

The E-Mail Time Capsule

Most time capsules involve cramming stuff into a metal box and burying it in a hole in the ground. It's a method that works --but it's so primitive. What if you could write an email to yourself, and be assured of receiving it twenty years in the future?

Get the Pill

With the FDA dragging its feet on letting the morning after pill be over the counter here is a way to get it prescribed via the internet:

Get The Pill.com

The condom broke?
You missed a few pills?
Or you simply forgot about birth control in the heat of the moment?

We can help! At getthepill.com, we are committed to providing women with fast, easy access to emergency contraception (the morning after pill), which can reduce your risk of pregnancy by 89%

This seems like the very best way to cut the amount of abortions, so why are the fundies so against it? Because they think the pill kills an embryo. They are wrong. It takes 24 hours before a sperm and egg connect, this pill prevents that.

Juggling Judges

This is so hilarious it just has to show up on the Daily Show. Tom DeLay asked the first judge in his indictment case to step down because he was a Democrat and gave money to dems, now Ronnie Earle has asked the second judge to recuse himself because he is a Republican and gave money to repub campaigns. Now the third judge who is Republican has appointed a new judge who is a Democrat. This is crazy, I thought judges based their decisions on laws not party affliation.

Wingnut Priorities

Let's see tax cuts for the rich or feed the poor, tax cuts or poor people, I don't know which would you do? Guess what the wingnuts will do:

Food Stamp Cuts Are On Table -- House Plan Would Affect 300,000

How Low Can You Go?

For all those pundits out there that said Plamegate wasn't anything the common American was watching:


CBS Poll Finds Public Takes Plamegate Seriously
Bush, Now
Approve
35%
Disapprove
57%


Nixon, Gallup Poll, 11/1973
Approve
27%
Disapprove
63%

Bush's low job approval is far below that of some of his two-term predecessors at this point in their second terms. In November 1985, President Reagan had a 65 percent approval rating, and Bill Clinton's job approval in November 1997 was 57 percent. Bush's rating is higher than Richard Nixon's was at the same point in his administration.

I Wonder if the Fundies Will Like This?

Three decades before the Supreme Court decriminalized gay sex, Alito declared on behalf of his group of fellow Princeton students that "no private sexual act between consenting adults should be forbidden." Alito also called for an end to discrimination against homosexuals in hiring.

Young Alito defended privacy, gay rights

WOW -- I've got Chills

Just watched Bill Clinton's speech at Rosa Parks funeral. Wow, what a guy. What a speech. This is what a leader of the free world should be like. It gave me chills listening to him.

I WANT BUBBA BACK!

Michael Moore Has Pre Election 2006 Doc

Katrina The Wrath of Bush

Whoa The Dems FINALLY Showing Some Muscle

:o
Finally it looks like the Dems in the Senate have thrown down the gauntlet. Just now on CNN, Harry Reid closed the doors because the Dems want the Senate to investigate the pre-war intelligence and the Libbey indictment. GIVE 'EM HELL HARRY!

Sen. Reid: Libby’s Indictment Shows “This Admin. Manufactured And Manipulated Intelligence In Order To Sell The War In Iraq”…