Friday, April 29, 2005
Let's Get That Snowball Rolling, Boys...
The good folks over at OperationTruth have pointed out a Senate vote I discussed the other day.
38 Senate Republicans couldn't bring themselves to vote for much-needed up-armored humvees for our troops in Iraq. (OpTruth has more about that shortage here.)
Don't forget this, and don't let them forget it either...
Income More Than $20k? You're "Better Off"!!!
So says President Bush in an effort to sell his Social Security snakeoil...
Think Progress has the juicy details...
Joe Rogan Will Be At Charlie Goodnight's This Weekend...
Joe is the host "Fear Factor", but his comedy is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar less TV-friendly.
He's a really funny guy and I hear he puts on a good show...
Thursday, April 28, 2005
At The Risk Of Sounding Like A Complete Knob...
I have to admit I'm very excited about the upcoming Star Wars flick. I won't be camping out to see it, but I am excited...
In spite of the last two films, (the first of which was plain awful, the second was passable if not for the wooden acting) I've retained an interest in the storyline.
My hopes for the new film are almost totally predicated on Star Wars III being way darker than the last two. I'm actually looking forward to seeing Anakin go apeshit and turn to the Dark Side. I even hope he leaves some serious carnage in his wake.
Given the film's PG-13 rating, I'm guessing I'm not far off.
Let's face facts here: The Empire Strikes Back is easily the best of the Star Wars movies so far.
Why? Because it was sad and dark. All that wimpy Ewok-Jar Jar Binks bullshit is just filler crap.
It's time for George Lucas to get nasty. I wanna hear crying in that theater! Stop fucking around and scare people!
Does anyone remember how terrified they were the first time they saw Darth Vader on screen? I was about 5 years old and I damn near shit my pants!!!
I'm just hoping to recreate that feeling in some way. Preferably without a loss of bowel control...
P.S. Does anyone else think the guy playing Anakin Skywalker can't act for shit?
Anthony, This One's For You...
The next time you mount your high horse and try to call me a "closet queer basher" for daring to point out the strangely chummy relationship our President has with the guy that has every one of us on all fours when we gas up, I suggest you turn your scope in the direction of Alabama and your own decrepit GOP. I'm guessing you'd be peas-in-a-pod with this fine Republican statesman...
A college production tells the story of Matthew Sheppard, a student beaten to death because he was gay.
And soon, it could be banned in Alabama.
Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. As CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters.
"I don't look at it as censorship," says State Representative Gerald Allen. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children."
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Mmmmmm...Smell That Democracy!
RawStory reports that GOP House members are now re-writing Democrats' amendments without their knowledge to make their authors look bad.
Smells like freedom to me!
When Bush Met Abdullah...
What a grand time they had, and ThinkProgress was kind enough to run down a checklist of their super-fun activities!
(cue Queen's "You're My Best Friend")
P.S. If you'd like to see how the happy couple got together, look no further...
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
To All North Carolinians: Both Of Your Senators Voted Against $213 Million In Up-Armored Humvees...
Liddy Dole and Richard Burr both voted against an amendment that provided for an additional $213 million worth of up-armored humvees for the Army.
The amendment, introduced by Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) passed on 61-39 vote which, in today's terms, can be considered a strongly bipartisan effort.
It's just too bad that both of our Senators weren't interested in addressing a glaring need expressed by the Army itself...
While I'm In A Polling Mood...
Exactly half of America thinks that Bush "deliberately misled" them about WMD in Iraq...
I really don't know what gave them that idea...
Poll On "Nuclear Option": Bad News For GOP...
Keep overreaching, fellas. 2006 is fast approaching...
ABC/Washington Post. 4/21-24. MoE 3%. (No trend lines.)
The Senate has confirmed 35 federal appeals court judges nominated by Bush, while Senate Democrats have blocked 10 others. Do you think the Senate Democrats are right or wrong to block these nominations?
Right 48
Wrong 36
Would you support or oppose changing Senate rules to make it easier for the Republicans to confirm Bush's judicial nominees?
Support 26
Oppose 66
P.S. Swing State Project has a clip up of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) extolling the virtues of the filibuster...for Iraq.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Frist Says Dems Coined "Nuclear Option"...He's Lying...
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is charging hard to become the darling of religious right chickletbrains long before the 2008 GOP presidential primary season.
He's trying so hard, in fact, he's resorting to telling out-an-out lies about the origin of the phrase "nuclear option". I'm assuming the phrase must've polled badly (much like "private accounts"), and since the GOP can't take a shit without checking a poll nowadays, their trying to turn "nuclear option" into a creation of the Democratic party..
Wrong...
Here's what the catkiller said yesterday:
Now if Senator Reid continues to obstruct the process, we will consider what opponents call the “nuclear option.” Only in the United States Senate could it be considered a devastating option to allow a vote. Most places call that democracy.
A clear passing of the buck to Democrats for referring to circumventing the Constitution as the "nuclear option". Too bad Frist's claim is about as hollow as Paris Hilton's cranium.
From Fox News on November 14, 2004:
WALLACE: Well, let me ask you about one of them, because some Republicans are talking about what they call the nuclear option, and that would be a ruling that the filibuster of executive nominees is unconstitutional, which would require not 60 or 67 votes but only a simple majority of 51.
FRIST: Yes. That's right.
WALLACE: Are you prepared to do that?
FRIST: Oh, it's clearly one of the options. I've always said it's one of the options. What it basically -- it's called the nuclear option. It's really a constitutional option. And what that means is that the Constitution says you, as a Senate, give advice and consent, and that is a majority vote. And then you vote on that, and that takes 50 votes to pass.
Then two days later on NPR:
Sen. FRIST: If we continue to see obstruction where one out of three of the president's nominees to fill vacancies in the circuit court are being obstructed, then action would be taken. One of those is the nuclear option. The Constitution says advice and consent is the Senate's responsibility; the president's responsibility to it is to a point, and therefore, if the Constitution says `advice and consent,' by 50 votes you can decide to give advice and consent. Will we have to do that? I can't tell you, but I can tell you if obstructions are to continue like they have in the past, that clearly is an option that we have on the table.
(Thanks to Atrios...)
P.S. In other news, Tom DeLay just got deeper into the shit. This time, he's stewing for charging an airline ticket to a lobbyist's credit card...
UPDATE: Supporters of Senator Frist's nuclear option decided to take out some aggressions at a Dairy Queen owned by the wife of Senator Ken Salazar (D-Co.) in response to the Senator's comments about the right wing attack on filibusters.
In all my days, I never thought I'd see a bunch of Republicans gang up on the wife of a Democratic politician...What a world...
2nd UPDATE: It looks like it may have been GOP Senator Trent Lott that coined the phrase "nuclear option".
"I'm for the nuclear option, absolutely," Lott has said. "The filibuster of federal district and circuit judges cannot stand. ... It's bad for the institution. It's wrong. It's not supportable under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters, I'm perfectly prepared to blow the place up. No problem."
Friday, April 22, 2005
Great Quote From The Father Of The American Conservative Movement...
This should really put into perspective how far off the tracks today's Republican theocrats have gone...
However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'
--Senator Barry Goldwater (R)
UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan brings up another great quote and puts it into an excellent contemporary context:
"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute -- where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote -- where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference ... I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish -- where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source -- where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials."
- President John F. Kennedy. At the time, the speech was regarded as an attempt to refute anti-Catholic prejudice. Today, wouldn't the theocons regard it as an expression of anti-Catholic prejudice? Wouldn't Bill Frist see president Kennedy as an enemy of "people of faith"? Just asking.
Talk To Me About The iPod...
Pros? Cons? Worth the money? Mini vs. Regular?
I'm curious and may be looking to move on one this weekend, so any and all insight would be helpful.
P.S. I'm also envisioning which songs would be the first 5 to make it into my iPod:
1. "Joey" by Concrete Blonde
2. "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley
3. "Hangar 18" by Megadeth
4. "Veronica" by Elvis Costello
5. "Cemetary Gates" by Pantera
UPDATE: Happiness is UNC losing its top 7 players. Good riddance, fellas!
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Arnold: Blame My Bad English
I guess it's as good an excuse as any for a guy that's lived here for, what, 30 years?
Here's what the Governator said yesterday:
“Close the borders in California and all across Mexico and in the United States Because I think it is just unfair to have all those people coming across, have the borders open the way it is, and have this kind of lax situation.”
And his backtrack today:
“Yesterday was a total screw-up in the words I used,” the Republican said at a news conference. “Because instead of closing, I meant securing. I think maybe my English, I need to go back to school and study a little bit.”
Truth be told, I do believe the guy, it just sounds like a pretty dopey excuse to me...
Schwarzenegger is actually the best that the GOP has to offer in these days of Santorum, DeLay, Brownback and the rest of the fundamentalist freaks...
George W. Bush Pontificates About Debt...
President Bush upon signing the Bankruptcy Bill (4/20/05):
"If someone doesn’t pay his or her debts the rest of society is left paying for them."
Amount added to the federal debt during the George W. Bush presidency:
$2.2 Trillion that the rest of society is left paying for...
(Thanks to ThinkProgress.)
Get A Load Of This Shithead...
If North Carolina ends up getting a lottery, we can probably expect to see a few examples of greedy behavior like this one up in New York...
A Manhattan judge has frozen the lottery winnings of a man his colleagues claim is a lotto louse.
John Piccolo won $175,000 playing Mega Millions last November — with a ticket his co-workers at Mount Sinai Hospital say came from their office pool.
"Lo and behold, he got amnesia after they got the winning ticket," said lawyer Joey Jackson, who's representing Veronica Edmondson, Denise Beaulieu and Joan Pitcan in their suit against Piccolo, their colleague and former friend.
Piccolo's lawyer, Michael Weiss, says his client didn't forget anything. He bought the winning ticket with his own money from a store near his Queens home.
Edmondson said she found out about the win when Piccolo called to say "something came up" and he'd be late for work. "I just won the Mega Million second prize for $175,000," Edmondson quoted Piccolo as saying in court papers. "Hardly able to contain my excitement, I exclaimed, 'We won, John!!!' " Edmondson said.
"No," he replied, "I won."
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Casey Leading Santorum By 14 Points...
The best news is that this same poll showed Casey with just a 5-point lead last month. Maybe it's about time Sen. Santorum finds another dying woman to hitch his political star to...
Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr. holds a 14-percentage-point lead over Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in the 2006 campaign for Santorum's seat, according to an independent poll released Wednesday.
Casey, Pennsylvania's state treasurer and son of the late governor, was favored by 49 percent of the respondents in the Quinnipiac University poll, compared to 35 percent for the second-term incumbent. Thirteen percent were undecided.
The widening of Casey's lead, from 46-41 percent in a Quinnipiac survey in February, comes on the heels of Santorum's high-profile advocacy of two controversial causes -- President Bush's Social Security overhaul plan and congressional intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI...
They were looking to modernize the Catholic church, so they picked the most vociferous hard-line conservative on the list. Interesting logic. Could be a trip back to the dark ages...
However, I digress. I'm not making a full judgement just yet since a.) he just got elected, and b.) I'm not Catholic.
Two things puzzle me though:
1.) Why do you replace an 82-year-old Pope with a 78-year-old Pope. (Is this guy the Bill Guthridge of Catholicism?)
2.) Why not pick a Pope that comes from a place where Catholicism is growing at it's strongest rate (i.e. Latin America or Africa)?
She Gives Her Number To Every Man She Sees...
It was stuck in my head, now it's stuck in yours.
You're welcome...
Girl I can't understand it
Why you wanna hurt me
After all of the things I've done for you
I buy you champagne and clothes, put diamonds on your finger (Diamonds on your finger)
But still you hang out all night, what am I to do?
My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time
My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time
She parties all the time
Party all the time
She likes to party all the time
Party all the time
Party all the time
She likes to party all the time
Party all the time
Girl I've seen you in clubs, just hangin' around and dancin'
You give your number to every man you see
You never come home at night, because you're out romancin'
I wish you'd bring some of your love home to me
But my girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time
My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time
My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time
My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, yeah
Party, party, party, party, party, party, party..(She likes to party all the time)
She likes to party all the time
She lets her hair down, she likes to party down
Party all down and party
She likes to party, she likes to party down
Party all the time
Girl gets down and parties, yeah
Party all the time
Party all the time
Monday, April 18, 2005
Bush Administration Eliminates 19-Year Terrorism Report Because It Makes Them Look Bad...
Don't like the answers? Change the questions!
No, I'm not talking about Rowdy Roddy Piper smashing coconuts into Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka's head, but the Bush Administration's approach to the war on terror.
An annual report, titled "Patterns of Global Terrorism" is being discontinued by Dear Leader because it shows that, thanks to the administration's bass-ackwards approach to fighting global terrorism, terrorist incidents around the world hit a 19-year high in 2004.
The State Department decided to stop publishing an annual report on international terrorism after the government's top terrorism center concluded that there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985, the first year the publication covered.
Several U.S. officials defended the abrupt decision, saying the methodology the National Counterterrorism Center used to generate statistics for the report may have been faulty, such as the inclusion of incidents that may not have been terrorism.
Last year, the number of incidents in 2003 was undercounted, forcing a revision of the report, "Patterns of Global Terrorism."
But other current and former officials charged that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's office ordered "Patterns of Global Terrorism" eliminated several weeks ago because the 2004 statistics raised disturbing questions about the Bush's administration's frequent claims of progress in the war against terrorism.
"Instead of dealing with the facts and dealing with them in an intelligent fashion, they try to hide their facts from the American public," charged Larry C. Johnson, a former CIA analyst and State Department terrorism expert who first disclosed the decision to eliminate the report in The Counterterrorism Blog, an online journal.
Friday, April 15, 2005
About That Bush Economy...
On Tuesday, I commented on the new record trade deficit that the Bush economy generated and was quickly upbraided by a reader for mentioning that the stock market wasn't taking the news well, which it wasn't at the time the news came out...
Three days of precipitous stock market slides later, I'm eagerly awaiting an explanation from those who warned me against "speaking in absolutes".
It seems to me I'm not the only worried about a lousy economy.
What gives, professors? I was told a Bush second term would be good news for the stock market and the economy...
31 Democrats Who Did The Nasty...
Talking Points Memo has posted a helpful listing of this week's House votes on the bankruptcy bill and inheritance tax repeal.
What's interesting is to see which Democrats voted first to turn the screws on average Americans via the horrendous bankruptcy bill, then to protect those who can protect themselves via the unfortunate inheritance tax repeal.
31 House Democrats did the nasty and voted for both pieces of legislation that cut against true Democratic principles.
Sadly, North Carolina's own Mike McIntyre was one of the infamous 31...
P.S. I don't mention how the House GOP voted because you can probably figure it out for yourselves...
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Rick Santorum: Wal-Mart's Bitch...
Man, do I love the Philly papers...
From the Daily News:
We hear that Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum hasn't been spending much time of late in his adopted hometown of Penn Hills near Pittsburgh, the town that spent over $100,000 to educate the senator's five kids while they were living in a luxury home in Virginia.
So Santorum probably doesn't even know that his neighbors are upset that a new Wal-Mart is coming to Penn Hills, so upset they held a meeting last night to complain about everything from traffic to the mom-and-pop stores that will likely be driven out of business.
But even the folks back in Penn Hills could get close enough to Santorum to complain, he might not hear them. Especially over the din of Wal-Mart corporate jet -- the jet that recently chauffered the Republican around the Sunshine State while Santorum alternately mugged for the cameras on Terri Schiavo's death watch and raised some $250,000 in campaign cash from deep-pocketed Florida donors.
2005 Philadelphia Eagles Prediction: 14-2
I have to admit, I think the Birds' 2005 schedule is a little disappointing...
Don't get me wrong. I think it's an easy schedule for a team that lost the Super Bowl by a field goal.
That being said, I agree with Rich Hofmann from the Philly Inquirer: The Eagles' schedule is not worthy of an NFC Champion.
Why should a defending NFC Champion have to play their first game on the road?
Why should a defnding NFC Champion have only five 1pm games all season?
In spite of an oddly-structured schedule I still see the Eagles as the best team in the NFC and am confident they'll head to Detroit next February for Super Bowl XL...
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Rudy Sarzo Writes About Life With Ozzy & Randy Rhoads...
This sounds like a really fascinating memoir by a guy who's played with some of the biggest names in the history of metal.
Sarzo's book will deal primarily with the time period ('80-'82) when he toured with Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads prior to the accident that claimed Rhoads' life.
Randy Rhoads was simply an amazing and unique guitar talent and I'll be getting this book for no other reason than to learn more about a gifted guitarist that people still talk about 23 years after his death...
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
What I Want For My Birthday...
...which, incidentally, is a mere 3 weeks away.
"The Office" Complete Collection would make a lovely and thoughtful present for a guy like me.
Have you guys watched this show???
The American version on NBC is funny, but the original series on BBC was just killer.
Check it out, won't you?
The Bush Economy Keeps Setting Records...
Remember when we actually used to make stuff here in the ol' U.S. of A.???
The U.S. trade deficit grew more than expected in February to a record $61.0 billion, as the U.S. economy sucked in record imports, the government said on Tuesday in a new report.
The trade gap widened 4.3 percent from January, despite a slight increase in exports to a record $100.5 billion. The monthly shortfall was greater than the median estimate of $59 billion from Wall Street analysts. The unexpectedly large jump in the trade gap is likely to cause analysts to trim their estimates for first-quarter economic growth.
The stock market ain't liking this one bit...
Monday, April 11, 2005
Santorum Raised $250k During Visit To Schiavo Family...
The junior Senator "from" the state of Pennsylvania went to Florida under the guise of comforting Terri Schiavo's family in their time of need.
He even went so far as to cancel a scheduled Social Security event "out of respect" for the family.
Santorum ran out of respect pretty quickly, it seems, since he went ahead with a campaign fundraiser the same day and raised a cool $250,000 for his re-election battle next year.
John Baer from the Philadelphia Daily News has penned a wonderfully sarcastic editorial that talks about Santorum's alleged concern for Terri Schiavo. He ties it up quite nicely here:
The trip was made on a Wal-Mart jet paid for by Santorum's campaign fund.
Total take, according to Santorum finance director Rob Bickhart, was about $250,000 (en route to an April 15 FEC filing expected to show the senator with close to $3 million already).
So my hat's off.
Down and back on a corporate jet, grab a quarter-mill, get some national attention. This, my friends, is poetry in motion.
What's that you say? Seems a tad crass to cash in on a heartbroken family and get your mug on TV because you happen to be in the neighborhood lining your pockets?
If you cancel one event "out of respect," why not others?
Doesn't the culture of life outweigh the culture of cash?
Well, your problem is you just don't understand politics (and, hey, Jesse Jackson went down there!) or the way it's played by the big boys.
Friday, April 8, 2005
Biggest Drop-Off From A Great Movie To A Crappy Sequel?
Seeing the first 15 minutes of Caddyshack II last night on Cinemax made me think of this question.
Is this, in fact, the worst sequel to a great movie in cinematic history?
Caddyshack is arguably the funniest movie ever made, but when you replace Rodney Dangerfield with Jackie Mason for the sequel, bad things are going to happen...
Other possible contenders:
Fletch Lives (Chevy Chase after his prime once again...not a coincidence)
Rocky V (Give it up already...)
The Ring Two (Trust me, it's shit...)
P.S. Sideways came out on DVD this week. Do yourself a favor and at least rent it...
Thursday, April 7, 2005
North Carolina Finally Moving Toward State Lottery...
Yesterday, the North Carolina state House voted yesterday by a razor-thin 61-59 margin to institute an education lottery. The measure now moves to the state Senate where it is expected to pass easily.
Since I moved here from Pennsylvania in 1995, it's baffled me that North Carolina didn't have a lottery while far more conservative states like Georgia and South Carolina (which is so whacked-out, they can't even serve liquor properly in bars) did.
This decision seems like a long time coming, especially since the stated goal for the lottery is improve funding for North Carolina's school system, which has had a tough time of it recently.
Not everyone likes this decision, and if you're reading this post and are against the lottery, please explain to me why.
I'm not looking to demean your feelings, but I need to know why you feel that something that won't affect you if you don't want it to (read as: if you don't like the lottery, don't buy a ticket) shouldn't even be an option for others who do.
Let's hear some opinions...
Schiavo Memo Was Indeed GOP-Penned...
So all the conservative conspiracy theorist dummies that said it was merely a Democratic ploy can go back to convincing the world that John Kerry and Jane Fonda are actually the same person.
The memo that outlined what a great political opportunity a brain-dead woman could be for the GOP was written by Senator Mel Martinez's (R-FL) legal counsel.
The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night.
Brian H. Darling, 39, a former lobbyist for the Alexander Strategy Group on gun rights and other issues, offered his resignation and it was immediately accepted, Martinez said.
As Kos points out, Martinez can only distance himself from the memo so much since he actually distributed it to other Senators...
UPDATE: Also from Kos, another list of right-wing dumbasses that should be chomping on some crow right about now...
2nd UPDATE: The Washington Post has a .pdf of the GOP memo up now. Much to the chagrin (or is it denial?) of the retards at Powerline...
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Fox News's 1-2 Punch At Pope John Paul II...
Think Progress has the dirt on Fox News automaton #1 Bill O'Reilly calling the Pope "naive and detached from reality" for daring to oppose military action in Iraq.
Fox News automaton #2, Sean Hannity, also got in a dig on the Pope around the same time, calling him a "wild-eyed liberal loon" for daring to question President Bush's all-knowing and all-seeing vision of a freer, flatter, less densely-populated Iraq...
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
He's An Unpopular President With NO MANDATE...
So says Gallup, many conservatives' favorite polling organization during the 2004 election:
President George W. Bush's approval rating has plunged to the lowest level of any president since World War II at this point in his second term, the Gallup Organization reported today."
All other presidents who were re-elected to a second term had approval ratings well above 50% in the March following their re-election," Gallup reported. Bush's current rating is 45%. The next lowest was Reagan with 56% in March 1985.
Take a look at the full list:
Truman, 1949: 57%
Eisenhower, 1957: 65%
Johnson, 1965: 69%
Nixon, 1973: 57%
Reagan, 1985: 56%
Clinton, 1997: 59%
Bush, 2005: 45%
Another GOP Member Of Congress Links Judicial Decisions To Violence...
The conservative crybabies that regularly infest my site and implore me to throw other liberals under the bus should take a good long look at the vomit being spewed by yet another arrogant GOP zero. In this case, it's Senator John Cornyn of (what a shocker!) Texas:
"It causes a lot of people, including me, great distress to see judges use the authority that they have been given to make raw political or ideological decisions," he said. Sometimes, he said, "the Supreme Court has taken on this role as a policymaker rather than an enforcer of political decisions made by elected representatives of the people."
Cornyn continued: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. . . . And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence. Certainly without any justification, but a concern that I have."
That's right genius, activist judges and inactivist judges alike deserve to suffer for decisions that GOP assholes don't like.
Did you ever think you'd see a US Senator trying to justify terrorism on the floor of the Senate?
UPDATE: ThinkProgress has the video of Sen. Cornyn turning the gun on himself...
Monday, April 4, 2005
Governor Rendell Makes Good On His Super Bowl Bet...
This picture just makes me want to weep...
Aaron McKie couldn't help saying something to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
"I asked him, 'Why are you wearing that [Patriots] jersey,' " McKie said. " 'It doesn't look right.'"
But a bet is a bet, so since the Patriots beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl, Rendell - with plenty of help from wife Midge, an accomplished vocalist - had to sing the national anthem before Sunday's Sixers-Celtics game while wearing a Patriots jersey.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who would have had to sing the anthem at a Sixers-Celtics game in Philadelphia, introduced Rendell to a supportive FleetCenter crowd.
"It may not be that great, but it comes from the heart," said Romney, who also sported a blue Patriots jersey.
"I thought Gov. Romney loved his people," said a smiling Rendell, who regularly serves as a studio analyst on Philadelphia TV after Eagles games. "To inflict my voice on them is cruel."
I can't stand the idea that a sanctimonious dickface like Mitt Romney got this kind of satisfaction from Big Ed. Yuck...
See you jerks next year...
P.S. The Sixers beat the Celtics 97-93 and got to within 3 games of the lead in the Atlantic division...
Your Most Uncomfortable Moment Watching TV/Movies With Your Family?
This morning on The Opie & Anthony Show, Anthony was reminiscing about the time he was 15 and saw "Saturday Night Fever" with his mother and grandmother.
Hearing him talk about the sheer discomfort he felt as Annette was getting gang-banged by John Travolta's a-hole buddies got me thinking about my most embarrassing moments.
Sadly, my options are somewhat limited here since I've been far from home since high school.
That being said, it was pretty creepy watching "Titanic" with my grandmother once it got to the part where Kate Winslet shows her boobs. (Quick aside: In how many movies has Kate Winslet taken her top off? 15? 20? I'm not complaining, just asking...)
Recently, my dad was in town and to my surprise, he's a big fan of "The OC". Truck drivers don't usually go down that path, so you can imagine the shock I experienced when he pointed out the two hot lesbian chicks on the show and said "these two used to be lovers"...
UPDATE: I think my worst nightmare would have to include being forced to watch an episode (make that ANY episode) of "The Sopranos" with my grandmother. The amount of uncomfortable laughter going on would be just unbearable...
Friday, April 1, 2005
Tom DeLay May Have Committed A Federal Crime By Threatening Judges...
So says Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) in a letter to The Bugman...
From Raw Story:
As you are surely aware, the family of Federal Judge Joan H. Lefkow of Illinois was recently murdered in their home. And at the state level, Judge Rowland W. Barnes and others in his courtroom were gunned down in Georgia.
Our nation’s judges must be concerned for their safety and security when they are asked to make difficult decisions every day. That’s why comments like those you made are not only irresponsible, but downright dangerous. To make matters worse, is it appropriate to make threats directed at specific Federal and state judges?
You should be aware that your comments yesterday may violate a Federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. §115 (a)(1)(B). That law states:
“Whoever threatens to assault…. or murder, a United States judge… with intent to retaliate against such… judge…. on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished [by up to six years in prison]”
Threats against specific Federal judges are not only a serious crime, but also beneath a Member of Congress. In my view, the true measure of democracy is how it dispenses justice. Your attempt to intimidate judges in America not only threatens our courts, but our fundamental democracy as well.
In a related story, the GOP's long-awaited civil war may have expericenced it's opening salvo thanks to The Bugman...
