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The Donnybrook
Friday, September 30, 2005
 
Sen. Barack Obama Explains His "No" Vote On John Roberts...

...and does so in a way that only one of the most eloquent voices on Capitol Hill can do...

Sen. Obama reminds Democrats once again that ideological purity tests on their elected Democratic representatives can, at times, be counter-productive. Obviously, this is point that I lose sight of from time to time (my heart's in the right place!), but it doesn't make the point any less valid.

One of the reasons I fully throw my support behind an anti-choice candidate like Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania is that in spite of a few differences I see on the issues, I know that he is a good Democrat, and there's just too few of those in Washington.

This is also the reason that 9 times out of 10, I think Ben Nelson (D-NE) is a better representation of the Democratic party than Joe Lieberman (D-CT). While Nelson is a very conservative Democrat, Lieberman lines right up with my beliefs on most issues.

Why then, do I prefer Nelson? Because he never resorts to trashing his fellow Democrats in order to curry favor with Republicans as Lieberman does fairly frequently.

The driving notion here is that whatever disagreements Democrats have amongst each other are almost always certain to pale in comparison to the agreements we have.

Be sure to read all of Sen. Obama's diary. It's truly an eye-opening read...

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Thursday, September 29, 2005
 
Decisions, Decisions...

A fantasy football question for my fellow geeks: Which WR would you start in Week 4?

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Bengals): A #2 receiver on a good team going up against the hapless Houston Texans...

OR

Brandon Lloyd (49ers): A #1 receiver on a terrible team facing the equally terrible Arizona Cardinals...

Opinions? (Not from you, Winston. Conflict of interest...)

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GOP Paragon Of Virtue Has An Idea For Reducing Crime In America...

Don't let the Tom DeLay indictment distract you, there's plenty of GOP scum trolling the American political landscape.

Take Bill Bennett for starters. He's been an arbiter of conservative GOP morality for years now. He finds himself so damn virtuous, he actually wrote a book called "The Book of Virtues".

Sadly, Mr. Bennett's high standard of morality took a bit of a hit (no pun intended) when it came to light that he had a wee bit of a gambling problem. By "wee bit" I mean he lost millions of dollars in casinos over the years.

Is doubling down on an 11 considered a "virtue" or just common sense?

Now that Bennett's gambling storm has blown over, he's on to bigger and better things, like ridding America of crime. Here's an idea Mr. Bennett shared on his national radio program yesterday:

I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky.
Fascism is indeed tricky, Mr. Bennett...

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Wednesday, September 28, 2005
 
Tom DeLay Indicted On Criminal Conspiracy Charge...

A Travis County grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of criminal conspiracy, jeopardizing the Sugar Land Republican's leadership role as the second most powerful Texan in Washington, D.C.

The charge, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years incarceration, stems from his role with his political committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, a now-defunct organization that already had been indicted on charges of illegally using corporate money during the 2002 legislative elections.
I'm going to lay down the gauntlet to my conservative readers:

Your mission (if you've got the stones for it) is to explain in 100 words or less why Tom DeLay is not a devious power-mad criminal asshole, but rather a fine upstanding paragon of Christian virtue.

Bonus points will be awarded if you can shift the blame from DeLay to one or more of the following entities:

The "liberal" media: 2 points
Cindy Sheehan: 5 points
Billy Sheehan (former Mr. Big bass player): 75 points
Ted Kennedy: 5 points
Michael Moore: 10 points
Pepperoni pizza: 25 points
Bill Clinton's penis: 50 points
Former TV game show host Bert Convy: 500 points

That last one got extra special consideration since Mr. Convy's been dead since 1991. Degree of difficulty has to account for something, doesn't it???

Have fun, boys!

UPDATE: Wow. The GOP spin machine is set on hyperdrive spreading the bullshit lie that Attorney General Ronnie Earle is a Democrat with an axe to grind.

It's just too bad he's prosecuted almost 3 times as many Democrats as Republicans in his tenure...

2nd UPDATE: If you think Tom DeLay is garbage and want to see him defeated in 2006 (that is, if he isn't in jail), you may want to support the candidacy of his Democratic opponent, former Rep. Nick Lampson.

Exposing the corruption of the Republican party means nothing if good Democrats don't step up and take out the trash in 2006...

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Could Brownie Go To Jail For This?

Lying to Congress under oath, that is.

Maybe one of you legal wizards can help me with this, but I seem to remember perjury being considered a crime...

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Tuesday, September 27, 2005
 
How Crazy Is This?!?!

Baseball players have got to be some of the weirdest athletes in the world...
Back in 1984, Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola noticed a large banner at the Metrodome that said "FRANKIE SWEET MUSIC VIOLA." He also noticed that whenever the banner appeared, he seemed to pitch well, and, in fact, never lost. According to Sports Illustrated, the banner's creator, a fan named Mark Dornfield, introduced himself to Viola in 1987, and the two talked for two hours. That season, Viola went 15-0, with four no-decisions (all Twins victories) in banner games.

The Twins made the World Series that season, and Viola learned that Dornfield didn't have a ticket. That prompted Kathy Viola, Frank's wife, to call Dornfield up and offer him tickets to Games 1 and 7. As SI reported, "With the banner proudly unfurled, Viola won both games and was named Series MVP."
Wow...

The only superstition I had when I pitched in Little League was that if I drilled at least 2 guys in the back with a fastball in the 1st inning, I probably wouldn't be around for the 2nd inning.

Call it a hunch...

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Monday, September 26, 2005
 
Evolution Stands Up To Scientific Scrutiny Once Again...

When and if "intelligent design" theory holds up to ANY scientific scrutiny like this, then by all means teach it alongside evolution in every school in America for all I care.

Until then, "intelligent design" equals "anti-science" to me...

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I Love My Readers Sometimes...

The most amazing thing to me about running a blog is the input you get from people that you probably never would have met under different circumstances. This isn't always a good thing, but occasionally, it's a great thing...

Case in point: Rich from California had a terrific point about the GOP's success in making religious discrimination legal in Head Start hiring...
Although I'm not religious, I do feel that churches SHOULD have a certain amount of autonomy. They should also pay taxes.

If they are going to get help from federal tax dollars, from taxes paid by people of all religions and those of no religion, then they get no say in their hiring rules. It says somewhere (we all know where) that the government shall be no respecter of religion. Tax dollars are part of that government.
Great point, Rich...

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Friday, September 23, 2005
 
The GOP's Triple Crown Of Corruption...

Via DailyKos...

1. Senate: Majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is under investigation by the SEC for possibly making a stock trade using insider information a la Martha Stewart...

2. House of Representatives: Tom DeLay (R-TX) is sweating bullets after several of his comrades have been indicted for accepting illegal contributions...

3. White House: Karl Rove, in addition to leaking the identity of a covert CIA operative, apparently did some business with uber-scumbag lobbyist Jack Abramoff, so the FBI is taking a look...

Wow, you Republicans must be really proud of your leadership...

UPDATE: Apparently Frist's "blind trust" isn't so blind...

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House GOP OK's Religious Discrimination In Head Start Hiring...

You read that right. By a 220-196 margin, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives said it is acceptable for Head Start facilities to discriminate on the basis of religion...
The House voted Thursday to let Head Start centers consider religion when hiring workers, overshadowing its moves to strengthen the preschool program's academics and finances.

The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.
Unbelievable...

I just don't get the thinking here. Perhaps one of our intrepid GOP Congresscritters from North Carolina can help explain this one to me...
"This is about our children, and denying them exemplary services just because the organization happens to be a religious one is just cruel," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
There goes that idea. What the hell does she mean, anyway? Is she actually saying "exemplary services" can only delivered from people of the same religion?

Where the hell is our government taking us???

It's not just about Bush. He's just one moron, and he'll be gone in a little over 3 years. The increasingly-theocratic Republican party isn't going anywhere.

In fact, with every "victory" they get in the arenas of religious discrimination, homophobia, and just flat-out fear-mongering, they only grow stronger and stronger. As a result, every American (including those who would sooner shoot themselves in the head than call their GOP heroes out for ANYTHING) suffers for having to live in a nation so divided, so full of mistrust, so full of greed, and so full of hatred.

It's sick and it's not getting better...

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Thursday, September 22, 2005
 
House GOP's "Operation Offset" To Cut Military Benefits...

I guess this what they mean by "cutting the fat" from the budget.

From the Navy Times:
A group of House Republicans have proposed a plan to offset the costs of relief and rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina that includes trimming military quality-of-life programs, including health care.

Possible sources of funding cuts to free up money for Katrina relief include reduced health benefits, consolidation of the three military exchange systems and the closure of the military’s stateside school system.
Way to support those troops, GOP!

David Sirota has more...

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The Inevitable Hurricane-Terrorism Connection...

By inevitable, I mean we all knew Bush would go there eventually.
Mr. Bush said he had been "thinking a lot" about the comparisons between the response to the attacks in New York and Washington, and the storm devastation. "We look at the destruction caused by Katrina, and our hearts break," he said. Turning the subject to terrorists, he said: "They're the kind of people who look at Katrina and wish they had caused it. We're in a war against these people."
Pathetic...

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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
 
The Farting Preacher...

I'm sure this has made the rounds on the internets, but it's so damn funny I really don't mind coming in late.

I've always this guy was a bit of a space cadet, and even though this is a fake, I think it still helps make my case...

The guy may be on to something, though. When I first watched this clip, I laughed so hard I'm pretty sure I saw God...

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Tuesday, September 20, 2005
 
"...and boom goes the dynamite."

Prepare yourself for the absolute worst sportscast of all time. I first heard this clip on the Ron & Fez show on XM, but you've got to actually see this clip to believe how bad a sportscaster this kid is.

This guy will give you the douche chills in under 30 seconds, guaranteed.

Please be sure to hold on to the end to hear his killer catch phrase...

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Think You Could Be A Hooters Girl?

I doubt I could make it since orange really isn't my color, although I am open to wearing tight tank tops and flesh-colored stockings if the mood strikes...

The Smoking Gun has come into possession of a copy of Hooters employee handbook and it is an absolute riot.

The degree to which these people take themselves way too seriously simply cannot be understated. It's just not possible.

Enjoy...

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$1 Billion Looted From Iraq's Ministry Of Defense...

It's nice to see our money is being put to good use over there, we certainly don't need it here at home...
Iraqi authorities are preparing an arrest warrant for the country's former defence minister in connection with a massive fraud case involving the "disappearance" of more than $1bn from ministry coffers.

Judge Raid al-Radhi, who is head of Iraq's commission on public integrity, said yesterday that he had given Iraq's central criminal court a dossier of evidence against Hazim Shaalan, who was minister of defence under the former government of Ayed Allawi.


"What Shaalan and his ministry were responsible for is possibly the largest robbery in the world. Our estimates begin at $1.3bn [£720m] and go up to $2.3bn," Judge Radhi, who is Iraq's senior anti-corruption official, told Reuters.


The "robbery" is believed to include the signing of multimillion-dollar deals with companies to supply equipment that was sometimes inappropriate for the new army or was years out of date. It is also alleged that the ministry paid huge premiums for some military hardware.
I wonder what "companies" they're referring to???

Let me say right off the bat, I expect radio silence on this theft from my resident die-hard righties since the phrase "oil for food" isn't prominently discussed...

P.S. I've said it before, but isn't it a hoot to see conservatives getting bent out of shape about the cost of rebuilding New Orleans while willingly forking over billions of dollars to be pissed away in Iraq?

P.P.S. Look at what else hasn't stopped in Iraq...

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Monday, September 19, 2005
 
"I want all Arabs to be stripped naked and cavity-searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport."

So says a former opinion writer for UNC's Daily Tar Heel.

Trying desperately to become the next Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter, Jillian Bandes penned a lovely defense of profiling that rightfully got a lot of people miffed.

She was subsequently fired for misquoting her sources and lying about the purpose of her column.

Bandes is predictably making the conservative rounds to whine about her dismissal (oh, conservatives love to bitch and moan!) and presumably not give a reason why she's a dishonest "journalist". Here's her canned defense:

"I essentially was committing an act of freedom of speech..."
You do have a freedom of speech, dumbass. No one has taken that away from you.

What you don't have is the freedom to be a liar and expect to have a public forum to spread your lies.

If you want to continue your career, go get a job with WorldNetDaily, or Newsmax.com. Better yet, see if the North Carolina GOP is hiring, I know several of their faithful that would love to hear what you have to say and will willingly lap up any lies you invent for them.

I would say being a shitty journalist is the least of Ms. Bandes problems since anyone that would actually commit their time and energy to spewing that kind of hatred must have a pretty rotten soul.

In that sense, getting up every morning and looking herself in the mirror will be her real punishment...

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Friday, September 16, 2005
 
In An Effort To Exorcise A Shitty Work Day...

...I bring you an invitation and some killer nostalgia.

First, is the World Beer Festival, coming up on October 8th in Durham. I'll be there for the early session, and should probably be well wasted by 1pm.

Many of the newly legal "big" beers (Thanks PopTheCap!) will be available to sample, so you may want to appoint a designated driver.

As for the nostalgia, who can tell me what TV show sported this gem as it's ending credit music?

For your answer, click here for the show's very well-known theme.

Peace...

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Lights Go On Before Bush's Speech...Go Off Afterwards...

What the hell is this about???

From NBC's Brian Williams:
I am duty-bound to report the talk of the New Orleans warehouse district last night: there was rejoicing (well, there would have been without the curfew, but the few people I saw on the streets were excited) when the power came back on for blocks on end. Kevin Tibbles was positively jubilant on the live update edition of Nightly News that we fed to the West Coast. The mini-mart, long ago cleaned out by looters, was nonetheless bathed in light, including the empty, roped-off gas pumps.

The motorcade route through the district was partially lit no more than 30 minutes before POTUS drove through. And yet last night, no more than an hour after the President departed, the lights went out. The entire area was plunged into total darkness again, to audible groans. It's enough to make some of the folks here who witnessed it...jump to certain conclusions.

UPDATE: Think Progress is absolutely killing it today in terms of breaking down last night's photo-op.

The biggest thing that jumps out at me is the fact that Bush is saying that the efforts of workers involved in the reconstruction of New Orleans are greatly appreciated, but it was him who waived the Davis-Bacon Act in the area in order to allow contractors to pay those same workers less than a prevailing wage...

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Thursday, September 15, 2005
 
76% Of Americans Want Independent Investigation Of Federal Response To Katrina...

100% Of GOP Senators Don't Give A Shit...

Despite the backing of a strong majority of Americans, Senate Republicans stayed true to their master yesterday and voted against creating an independent commission (a la the 9/11 Commission) to investigate the federal government's neglegent response to the worst natural disaster in US history.

After all, what good is learning from your mistakes, if it makes Dear Leader look like a disconnected jackass in the process?

Thanks to AmericaBlog...

UPDATE: You can change that healine to "100% of GOP Senators and GOP Congressmen Don't Give A Shit" now that the GOP House has voted along party lines to begin a "bipartisan investigation" into the aftermath of Katrina, not an independent one.

Let the whitewash begin...

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What Qualifies Karl Rove To Head The Katrina Reconstruction Effort?
"Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction effort."
Karl Rove is a political consultant, pure and simple. Why is he considered to be in any way qualified to rebuild a major American city ravaged by a hurricane?

Could it be that he's not really looking to fix New Orleans, but rather the increasingly lousy image of his boss?

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Republican Poll Shows Casey's Lead Over Santorum Growing...
Bob Casey, Jr. (D) 52%
Rick Santorum (R) 38%
--Strategic Vision (9/15/05)
Man, that's really gotta sting. Casey was leading by 11 points in July, now he's up by 14.

In related news, the same GOP poll shows Dubya barely treading water with the good people of my native state with an underwhelming 39% approval rating...

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Instant Karma's Gonna Get You...

This is a real shame...

FYI, I'm ducking under my desk to avoid the anvil that's probably bearing down on my head...

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Tuesday, September 13, 2005
 
I Feel Safer, How About You?

From today's presser:

The president was asked whether people should be worried about the government's ability to handle another terrorist attack given failures in responding to Katrina.

"Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack? That's a very important question and it's in the national interest that we find out what went on so we can better respond," Bush replied.


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Monday, September 12, 2005
 
Reader Roll Call...

In an effort to find out who and where my readers are, I'd like anyone that reads my blog with some level of regularity (not in a gastrointestinal sense) to please let me know you're out there.

If you could just drop a quick note in the "comments" thread with your first name, location, and political affiliation (if you have one). You can include your Social Security number if you like.

I'll get things started: I'm Brian, I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, and I'm a liberal Democrat...

Thanks!

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone that helped out here. To those of you who choose to languish in anonymity, just know that I'm still watching you...

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Every Crisis An Opportunity...

It was inevitable, but it started far more rapidly and more openly than even I would've guessed.

What I'm referring to is the rush by the GOP to move it's agenda forward, using Hurricane Katrina as a springboard.

David Sirota has put together a short list of ways in which the Republican party and the Bush administration are already angling at a line of reasoning that looks a lot like this:

"Because of Hurricane Katrina we really need to ___________________"

Now, that blank can be filled with any number of things that conservatives are itching for, from Social Security privatization to school vouchers, or my personal favorite: scrapping the minimum wage...

Take a good long look at what really matters to your GOP-led government in a time of national crisis...

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Saturday, September 10, 2005
 
"Blacks are too stupid to get out of the way of a hurricane."

What do you get when you have hundreds of conservative talk radio hosts across the country jockeying for attention from people willing to believe just about anything they say?

What do you get when the only way to separate yourself from a group of dishonest hatemongers is by being more dishonest and more hateful?

And finally, what do you get when the desire to defend the Republican party and President Bush becomes so overwhelming that an entire group of your fellow citizens become nothing more to you than fresh meat to be thrown to the wolves?

You get this sorry excuse for a human being and American. I'm not posting his name because he is absolute garbage and I'd rather not improve his Google count, but I do think it's important to see what motivates some (not all) of the American Right.

I just hope you don't vomit...

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Friday, September 9, 2005
 
La Fiesta del Pueblo Is This Weekend...

If you're looking for awesome Latin food, cool arts and crafts and a genuinely good time this weekend, may I highly recommend going over to the NC State Fairgrounds for Fiesta del Pueblo.

If you enjoy any Latin cuisine at all, you'll find it at the Fiesta.

Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, etc...it's all there.

Hope to see you there, I'll be the one that looks like this...

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Head Of FEMA Sent To His Room...
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

--President Bush, complimenting FEMA chief Mike Brown a week before he was relieved of his Katrina duties.
Still, in true admit-no-fault style, the Bush administration has kept the unqualified political crony on as the head of FEMA.

What exactly do you have to do to lose your job in the Bush administration? Obviously "botch the response to the worst natural disaster in US history" and "leak the identity of an undercover CIA operative" aren't too high on the list...

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11 Shithead GOP Congressmen Vote Against Hurricane Relief Package...

They always show their asses when it really counts, don't they?

As DFL says, it sucks that DeLay rammed the legislation through without amendments, but at the end the day this money is needed in the worst possible way.

Here's the dirty near-dozen, including a local gem:

Joe Barton - TX
Jeff Flake - AZ
Virginia Foxx - NC
Scott Garrett - NJ
John Hostettler - IN
Steve King - IA
Butch Otter - ID
Ron Paul - TX
James Sensenbrenner - WI
Tom Tancredo - CO
Lynn Westmoreland - GA

Virginia Foxx is a real peach. Way to think it through, my fellow North Cackalackians...

P.S. If you want to see Dick Cheney being told to go fuck himself, click here...

UPDATE: Look at some of the pseudo-sympathy Rep. Foxx has littered her website with:
“My thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered through Hurricane Katrina and are continuing to suffer through its aftermath. I especially pray for those who have lost loved ones and hope they can find some comfort in this time of distress."
Of course she offers thoughts and prayers, they don't come with a price tag!!!

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Thursday, September 8, 2005
 
How Am I Doing?, Part II...

Wrapping up draft season, here's my team from my 2nd fantasy football league. It's a 3-WR league.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ol' Gravylegs...

Starters

QB Kerry Collins
RB Corey Dillon
RB Rudi Johnson
WR Andre Johnson
WR Donald Driver
WR Ashley Lelie
TE Todd Heap
K Mike Vanderjagt
D/ST Philadelphia Eagles

Bench

QB David Carr
RB Thomas Jones
RB Justin Fargas
WR Justin McCareins
TE Eric Johnson
K Neil Rackers

I feel better about this team than my other one, if only because I have 2 stud RB's...

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Wednesday, September 7, 2005
 
How Am I Doing?, Part I

Last night was my first fantasy football draft of the year.

It's a league I won 3 years ago, and still feel like I can win if I have some good luck this year.

Without further ado, here are your 2005 Philadelphia Vipers:

QB Donovan McNabb (PHI)
RB Ahman Green (GB)
RB Reuben Droughns (CLE)
WR Joe Horn (NO)
WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (CIN)
TE Todd Heap (BAL)
K Jason Elam (DEN)
D/ST Philadelphia Eagles

I like my starters a lot, but I really have high hopes for a few of my backups:

WR Tyrone Calico (TEN): If he stays healthy, he could be the next incarnation of T.O.
WR Brandon Lloyd (SF): A #1 receiver on a crappy team is still a #1 receiver.
TE Ben Troupe (TEN): Once again health is an issue but he has a lot of sleeper potential.
RB Marshall Faulk (STL): If the old guy has anything left in the tank, I could look like a genius.

With that, I'll open it up to my fellow fantasy football geeks...

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50 Firefighters Were Diverted From Helping Katrina Victims To Pose With Bush...

On any given morning, I can browse some of the web sites that I regularly visit and find enough things that piss me off to last all day.

This morning the first one I hit was DailyKos, and let me just say, I've got enough anger to last me the rest of September.

Kos had linked to an article that discussed a thousand firefighters from around the country that had volunteered to come to the aid of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

A noble calling to be sure. I swear I wish I had the kind of balls these guys have. Unfortunately, most of them got stuck in a bullshit FEMA exercise, while some of them got a little sidetracked before they could help Katrina's victims:

Firefighters say they want to brave the heat, the debris-littered roads, the poisonous cottonmouth snakes and fire ants and travel into pockets of Louisiana where many people have yet to receive emergency aid.

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.
Firefighters, aircraft carriers, burning rubble, soldiers, Marines, police, children, etc: They're all just props when it comes to what really matters to the Republican political machine...

MAKE PRESIDENT BUSH LOOK GOOD AT ALL TIMES NO MATTER WHAT THE EXPENSE...

UPDATE: Another revolting piece in the article deals with a FEMA agent upbraiding firefighters for not wanting to be PR agents for her incompetent organization...
Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be
deployed as emergency workers.


Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.

On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency.

Federal officials are unapologetic.

"I would go back and ask the firefighter to revisit his commitment to FEMA, to firefighting and to the citizens of this country," said FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2005
 
Barbara Bush Is A Soulless Troll...

First, she opined about not wanting to "waste her beautiful mind" thinking about the soldiers dying in her son's war.

Now, she has some light-hearted commentary about refugees from New Orleans that have been moved to the Houston Astrodome:
"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."
It's a wonder that such a kind-hearted lady could give birth to such rancid offspring, don't you think?

UPDATE: CrooksAndLiars has the audio of Mrs. Bush's Marie Antoinette moment...

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It's Like Last Season Never Ended...

...and I mean that in the worst possible way.

With Chuck Amato comes Florida State's brand of non-disciplined football, as evidenced by the Wolfpack's loss to No.8 Virginia Tech on Sunday night...

How can a premier football team in what is arguably the toughest conference in the nation commit 12 penalties for 105 yards???

I had a truly surreal moment in the 4th quarter while watching the game. My wife was asleep on the couch no more than 5 feet away from me as NC State was choking the game away and racking up penalties, so what I lacked in verbal aggression I more than made up for in internal misery and anguish.

By the time that ridiculous roughing-the-kicker call took place, I looked like Ahnuld at the end of "Total Recall" when he gets exposed to the Martian atmosphere.

All in all, the team actually looked pretty good by most standards. The defense is still rock solid, and I expect Jay Davis to be able to throw a ball farther than 10 yards any day now.

Time will tell...

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Friday, September 2, 2005
 
A Great New Orleans Story...

Here's a great piece of journalism regarding New Orleans.

I'm a little too pissed about the situation to stay positive at this point (and I'm not apologizing for it), so I'll refer you to Bill Simmons' column from ESPN.com.

He's a far better writer than I, and his perspective says a lot...

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Even Limbaugh's Girlfriend Thinks Bush Is A Bumbling Fool...

CNN's Daryn Kagan is already calling out Bush for coming to Mobile, Alabama to stage a photo opportunity with two GOP governors...
I gotta say that was rather an odd thing to be watching. The president finally making it to the gulf coast after five days, and then spending a big chunk of time, when he could be out seeing the devastation, getting a briefing that frankly he could have gotten back at the White House, if not then, then on board Air Force One. A lot of that seemed like a political opportunity for the cameras and for the Republican governors of Mississippi and Alabama.
I don't know who gave CNN a journalistic enema and got them doing actual news again, but all I can say is: Keep the soapy water flowing!!!

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Insensitive Scumbags Run Rampant...

Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice: The Secretary of State has been taking a little time for herself while New Orleans descends into chaos. Apparently, she's been taking in a Broadway show or two and doing a little shoe-shopping in the Big Apple while the worst natural disaster in US history unfolds. She probably shouldn't be trying to enlist the help of other nations or anything like that. Perish the thought...

Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff: The quote at the top right of my page says it all: If you didn't evacuate before the hurricane hit, too bad...

President George H. W. Bush: I can't believe I actually I saw this guy (who I actually still maintain a shred of respect for) on MSNBC talking about what his son "is going through" right now. Reality check, Mr. Bush: YOU'RE SON IS GOING THROUGH NOTHING, GENIUS!!! He'll go to sleep in a safe place while the people of New Orleans can't be sure whether or not they'll be dead in the morning...

Any conservative asshole that insists it's not the government's job to help the people of New Orleans: I can't even get my head around this one. If it's not up to the federal government's job to help, what the fuck do we pay taxes for??? Conservatives and liberals can agree on very few things these days, but I think anyone with some sense can see this is probably the best use of tax money imaginable. I wonder if they'd change their tune if these were wealthy people dying by the dozens...

Speaker Of The House Dennis Hastert: He thinks we shouldn't rebuild New Orleans. There's nothing in New Orleans worth rebuilding anyway, right Denny??? I'm sure if it was his home district under water his tune would be quite different...

UPDATE: Come to think of it, Speaker Hastert has no problem spending millions of dollars a day rebuilding Iraq, but he doesn't think it's worth it to rebuild New Orleans, a great American city. Think about that for a few minutes and tell me what you feel...

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Thursday, September 1, 2005
 
Please Go Read DrFrankLives...

While I'm a ranting hothead with an ax to grind, he's a sane and rational person with an amazing understanding of what's happening in the wake of Hurricane Katrina...

This piece is one of the finest he's written...

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From $2.59 to $3.01 In One Fucking Day...

To the assholes running every gas station in the Raleigh area, especially the scumbag running the show at the station at the corner of Jones Franklin Road and Walnut Street:

You are vile pieces of shit...

I saw the sign being changed at that very station yesterday, and what was $2.59 on Tuesday was now $3.01 on Wednesday.

Have fun dealing with the shame of gouging your fellow citizens at the whims of your corporate masters when this country should be coming together.

It must be an absolute hoot being a hatchetman for a blood-sucking oil company at a time when they are getting fatter than Marlon Brando on a 3-day Crisco bender...

There, my rant is over. I'm just thankful our president knows what to do...

UPDATE: Sarcasm aside, can you imagine Dear Leader having as much common sense as Governor Mike Easley to say something like this?

Consequently, we do not know the extent of the problem, but we do know that there will be a signifcant loss of gasoline in the Southeast, at least in the short term, until the electricity is restored.

This is not only a state problem, this is also a regional and a national problem. We are hoping that the Department of Energy will take some action as soon as possible. I have tried to get direction from DOE, but they have not yet responded.

In the meantime, I am asking all North Carolinians to conserve gas. Some stations are already out. Wait for more information before making Labor Day travel plans.

We are taking steps to ensure that emergency vehicles have the supplies that they need, police, fire and rescue.

I am immediately suspending all non-essential state government travel. I am asking state employees to carpool wherever possible.

I am also asking all our citizens to be smart about their fuel consumption.


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