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Friday, January 13, 2006

Friday Blogaround 

What's the buzz at The Liberal Coalition?
  • archy doesn't feel safer.
  • Bark Bark Woof Woof reviews Brokeback Mountain.
  • blogAmY doesn't need a refund.
  • bloggg confronts special needs and the Supreme Court.
  • Collective Sigh has some travel tips.
  • CorrenteWire finds out that what's in your wallet can get you busted.
  • Dodecahedron tokes a pot pill.
  • Dohiyi Mir has Friendly objections to teaching "intelligent design."
  • Echidne sheds some light on some tears being shed.
  • Jane at firedoglake reviews Kate O'Bierne's lastest piece-of-crap writing.
  • First Draft has a year's worth of Bushisms uttered in just one day.
  • The Fulcrum predicts an emergency in health care.
  • Happy Furry Puppy puts the "cult" in "culture war."
  • iddybud on Israel telling Pat Robertson to get bent.
  • Left Is Right wonders where the revolution went.
  • Kathy at Liberty Street compares Democratic "meanness" to Alito compared to Republican hypocrisy.
  • Make Me a Commentator comments on Ann Coulter's latest piece-of-crap.
  • Musing's musings muses on the blame-game and holding the president to account for his treasonous words.
  • Pen-Elayne contemplates a time when it mattered if the president broke the law.
  • Rook's Rant on a magnificent piece of writing by the immortal James Wolcott.
  • rubber hose brings a lawyer's persepctive to Alito's views.
  • Science and Politics has the perfect script for dealing with telemarketers. (I usually ask them what they're wearing.)
  • Scrutiny Hooligans notes that your mileage may vary.
  • Sooner Thought on marriage and employment at an Oklahoma university.
  • Speedkill on the violence and video games.
  • Steve Gilliard on why it's important for Democrats to keep fighting.
  • T. Rex debunks another myth.
  • The Countess has an interesting poll on sex.
  • Wanda wants to know what's more important, Brad and Angie's baby or Sam Alito?
  • WTF Is It Now?? on Santorum.
  • The Yellow Doggerel Democart on the price of criticising Tom DeLay in Houston.
  • ...You are a Tree wonders what file extension you are.
  • To quote Pogo, Friday the 13th will be on Tuesday this month.

    Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.

    Thursday, January 12, 2006

    Click Until You Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry 

    Shakespeare's Sister
    The Best Blonde Joke Ever. Read all the way to the end; awesome.


    Journalistic Suicide 



    James Wolcott: Noxious Fumes. If the fumes don't gage you, the visuals will.


    Look. If your intent is to become known as a journalistic felo-de-se, there is no more an efficient means of committing languistic suicide then by attacking James Wolcott. If you are not intent on journalistic self-destruction, then I suggest you might steal yourself to a far off cave somewhere in the mountains of Tibet with an unabridged English language dictionary, a thesaurus, and a years supply of your most prised brand of pens, dedicating yourself to 20 hours a day of orthography. Because if you have not obtained a Shaolin Monks prowess with pen and language, you will be so much pate at the next Vanity Fair soiree.


    You know, if there is a God of writing, I have no doubt he is the splitting image of James Wolcott.


    Cross posted at Rook's Rant.



    Wednesday, January 11, 2006

    Flawed Poll 

    CNN.com - Poll finds U.S. split over eavesdropping - Jan 11, 2006
    A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,003 adults found that 50 percent of those polled believe it's OK to forgo warrants when ordering electronic surveillance of people suspected of having ties to terrorists abroad.


    This would be a legitimate poll if it had actually asked a question relative to the issue. However, it is not anywhere close to hitting the issue. First, the wiretaps were not even close to evesdropping on people suspected of having ties to terrorists. Instead, it was a data mining operation. One that looked at patterns, and not at specific people suspected of specific ties to specific people. Too specific for
    you?

    Sorry. I am in a mood. I hate lazy ass people. And there is no doubt that Acme, Inc. is full of lazy ass people.

    The problem is that the MonoMedia is not educating the American people of what exactly the Administration has done. They are misleading the public with poorly worded polls such as the CNN/Gallop above.

    Now, unless they are spying on someone for reasons other then national security, you know, like eavesdropping on an opponent's political campaign communications, there should be no reason to not seek a warrant. But since it appears there may have been some highly illegal spying on people not tied to terrorism, of course there is going to be a move to not seek warrants, and to make an attempt to rationalize the actions of the Administration.

    But hey, what is a little tyranny from assholes? Right?

    Cross posted at Rook's Rant

    Monday, January 09, 2006

    US Troops Seize Award Winning Iraqi Journalist 

    Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | US troops seize award-winning Iraqi journalist
    American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.
    There is definitely a pattern here. First, word gets out that President Bush joked about bombing Aljazeera and now we have the US Army entering the home of journalist in Baghdad, and against the law to boot. But when we have a President who believes he is above the law, it makes sense to illegally enter the home of an Iraqi citizen.

    It was no joke. Bush is indeed capable of ordering the bombing of a foreign news service. Anything, or anyone, that exposes the truth about his administration will be in danger from this man and his administration. Freedom of speech does not exist for this man. He is a fascist tyrant doing everything in his power to hold onto the Presidency. Do not be surprised when a memo comes to light discussing the legality of suspending the constitution.

    Cross posted at Rook's Rant.


    I almost forgot; Hat Tip to The Heretik.


    Sunday, January 08, 2006

    Everybody Does Not Do It! 

    Seeing the Forest: DOES Everybody Do It?
    Progressives believe that the ideals of community and democracy CAN work -- that people CAN work together to help each other out -- that businesses CAN make money while following the rules, serving their customers and bettering the community as a whole.


    Can I have an Amen!


    You're reading a lot about a corruption scandal in Washington. Some people are trying to tell you that "everybody does it" and that both parties are involved and that whenever you try to take the money out of politics it finds another way in. These are smokescreens designed to make you think this is not as bad as it sounds. These are smokescreens designed to make you think there is nothing you can do about things like that, that you have no power, and that you should just let the politicians take care of these things for you.


    I have known people who said just this very thing. Especially about having no power. The scary thing, they were not Republicans. They were independents. But to me they were small-minded, weak-willed individuals with no strength beyond their own petty concerns. Intellectually lazy, they simply passed on the words and concepts fed to them by the likes of Limbaugh and Coulter. Or worse, accepted the filtered versions of Limbaugh and Coulter from the more rabid wing-nuts they knew. They did not take the time to learn the truth. They did not think for themselves.


    42% Are Okay With Warrantless Wiretaps 



    mnpACT! Progressive Political Blog
    Let's take a poll. Would you want your neighbors to be able to listen to your cell phone conversations... to tap into your e-mails? You pose that question and you will get 99 per cent saying, "NO WAY!" But, those 42 per cent seem to think if the government does it, it is different. Well, it is -- but it's way more dangerous.

    A very good point. If we do not want our neighbors to evesdrop, then we certainly do not want our government to evesdrop. That 42% seem to think it is okay for the government to evesdrop without a warrant goes a long ways towards explaining the 2004 election. Well, that and the Diabold votes.