Hey, in pattern this isn't unlike Stalin's end.
Fidel just"temporarily" relinquished power prior to surgery. Can it be possible that we won't have to hear the Miami Cuban exiles whine anymore? (and maybe now, with that issue gone, they'll realize the GOP was never their friend anyway)
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
...at Salon, by Neal Gabler. (you just have to click through an ad to get in, if you're not a subscriber)
While it's true that some evangelical leaders have become vocal supporters of Israel, it's because the return of Jews to a Jewish homeland fulfills the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, not because they harbor any particular affection for Jews. As E.L. Doctorow once put it, these Christians welcome the apocalypse in which Jews will be condemned to eternal damnation. Some love!...For whatever personal reasons, and God knows what demons lurk in him, Mel Gibson has been spoiling for a fight with the Jews and got it by baiting them. "The Passion of the Christ," which was widely accused of anti-Semitism for its exaggerated portrayals of Jews and for assigning them primary responsibility for Jesus' death, was really not the story of Jesus' passion; it was the story of Mel Gibson's. He was the one being nailed to the critical cross. Gibson certainly could not have been caught unawares by the criticism; in fact, in many of his so-called secular movies, like "Mad Max" or "Conspiracy Theory," Gibson had also played Christ. One might even say that he made "The Passion" precisely so that he would be persecuted by liberals and Jews -- essentially crucified -- and consequently celebrated by evangelical Christians for his sacrifice.
As it turned out, martyrdom was good business. The film earned nearly $400 million, not, one assumes, because it was a great piece of entertainment or even because it was a great religious experience. What it was, was a great cultural statement -- a thumb in the eye of liberal, secular American popular culture from which Gibson himself had once benefited and which was now vilifying him as the Jews had once vilified Christ.
Labels: film, hate war, Mel Gibson, right wing
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
You know, I wonder if anyone's considered asking Jesus what he thought. After all, he lives in South Park. Then again, I'd have been in hiding during that period too...
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
- The Shining
- Reds
- The Man Who Would Be King
- Batman Begins
- Superman
- The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Neck
- A Christmas Story (I'll bet that lamppost is now looking really tempting, huh folks?)
- Stalingrad
- The Thing
- Scarface
- X-Men 1 & 2
And feel free to add your own suggestions down in the comments section. Because it is freaking hot! (Don't bother mentioning Fargo though. Played out and I was never really that impressed with it.)
Labels: superman
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
Will you look at this!
I'd just like to point out that, while I don't know if I was the first, I pointed this out about Gibson long before they did, last year in fact.
And I also still suggest the Air Force should bomb his house and look for some WMDs. But nobody ever listens to me till it's too late...
Andrew Sullivan updates you on the conservatives scrambling to apologize for Gibson. They really are Pavlov's wet dream, aren't they?
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
I'm referring to the hilariously stupid campaign of Katherine Harris. You may recall the GOP was trying to persuade her not to enter the race, but it goes deeper than that. On May 7, the Florida Republican Party revoked any support for her campaign, in writing.
"Katherine, though it causes us much anguish, we have determined that your campaign faces irreparable damage. We feel that we have no other choice but to revoke our support. The polls tell us that no matter how you run this race, you will not be successful in beating Bill Nelson, who would otherwise be a vulnerable incumbent if forced to face a stronger candidate."
Yes, and the horse you rode in on. Git.
Which proves three things: that the party knows just how fucked it is and wanted to have at least some of its ducks in a row(but now, party unity for them is more Democratic, which is to say like herding cats), that the GOP does pay attention to polls, and that the Bushes always fuck anyone who is loyal to them, especially if they go out on a limb, because then the blame can all be put on the underling. The lesson of this should have been to ditch him and Cheney long ago, but it's too late now, as Mark Kennedy and Michael Steele are finding out as they try their damndest to remove their snoots from the increasingly stinky Bush anus.
"I can't believe they all fell for it."
Oh, and that Katherine Harris will finally face the public punishment and shame that she always deserved for her part in beginning the destruction of America. So, yay!
Labels: cheney, Michael Steele, politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
Why conservatives are a lost cause.
(Click to enlarge)
Hannity is really saying that? Shit, without cable these people barely exist.
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
I have no use for religion, but if there must be Christians, why can't more be like this guy?
One woman asked: “So why NOT us? If we contain the wisdom and grace and love and creativity of Jesus, why shouldn’t we be the ones involved in politics and setting laws?”
Mr. Boyd responded: “I don’t think there’s a particular angle we have on society that others lack. All good, decent people want good and order and justice. Just don’t slap the label ‘Christian’ on it.”...
“America wasn’t founded as a theocracy,” he said. “America was founded by people trying to escape theocracies. Never in history have we had a Christian theocracy where it wasn’t bloody and barbaric. That’s why our Constitution wisely put in a separation of church and state."
Reverend Gregory Boyd
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
Bush is best president in world and never lie!
Hello!
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
But with the punishment the last six years has brought us, wouldn't you finally say "Fuck this?"
Labels: politics
¶ July 31, 2006 0 Comments
No, I am not subscribing to this Snakes on a Plane reverse psychology method of saving a movie that, in all likelihood, is a piece of shit. But this song and video are a bit of utterly knowing, cheesy fun by a band that was most likely put together last week from various people at Venice Beach. (And I admit I think the blonde girl is cute. I'm human, so they tell me)
And yes; I do realize that, no matter what, by simply mentioning it I have become part of a marketing campaign. I urge you therefore: do not go see this film; they make money even if you see it to make fun of it.
I would also suggest you note how times have changed. The "band" (some kind of demographic cross between Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas, and some sissy emo band) are presented as the dread terrorists who bring the snakes on the plane. And in full and approving sight of Samuel L. "Sure I'll Do It, Where's My Check" Jackson, too!
Andrew Sullivan tells you all about it.
"A breath test indicated Gibson's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, Whitmore said."Nice try with the addiction excuse, though, Mel. Must've taken your publicist about three minutes to think of that one, thinking "They can't possibly hate him if he pretends that his example will somehow serve as a role model to others." Hoping for a People cover maybe?
I wonder how Michael Medved will now spin Gibson's now-clear anti-semitism.
Labels: Mel Gibson
¶ July 30, 2006 0 Comments
Speaking of roast, we have no AC here at Bottomless Studio, and it is fucking hot.
I use this formerly vulgar expletive* in honor of this post's subject. You've probably seen this, but I didn't till now. From June 19, Dick Cheney gets mercilessly harpooned, in public, by Jonathan Slant, President of the National Press Club, and can do absolutely nothing about it, at a luncheon in which he was subbing for Gerald Ford.
Watch Cheney's face as he swells like a toad with the slightly bored pride of a man used to having lists of his accomplishments rattled off in public, and then watch the slow, squirming burn at about 1:14 into the video.
You can almost hear him thinking "Eh?" and then, "I'm vice-president. Surely I can shoot him."
And you may remember this moment from the gods:
*I mean, if the vice president himself says it publicly, is it at all profane? I thought everything a president or veep says was cleansed by its journey from their mouths from the vilest sewage to the purest honey.
By way of Andrew Sullivan, the first sign this political season of how bad it actually now is to label oneself a Republican. Mark Kennedy of Minnesota(and if the landscape of the GOP is such a frightening one Al Franken had better run) has this whimsical ad focusing on his family which not once mentions:
- That he's a strong supporter--still-- of the Fiasco In Iraq (think of that as he goofs around with his nice family--and that he was the guy Michael Moore challenged to have his kid enlist in the military in Fahrenheit 9/11)
- That he would actually give this president a line-item veto, and;
- Oh...that he's a Republican.
In all, that he's some kind of Jim Jeffords. I would suggest that a truly self-effacing man would try to correct his mistakes rather than continue them hiding behind every member of his family.
Which is, apparently, how many it takes to obscure the spots of blood on his hands. (and Jack Abramoff money) He's so darn cute and chuckly. A voter in his state might easily forget that this is the same idiot who helped get us all into this mess in the first place. Like in this ad from 2002, in which he's mostly in front of his family at least.
Labels: politics
¶ July 30, 2006 0 Comments
Wondering what Tony Blair could possibly do once he stands down as Prime Minister? (Which he's got to do someday) Will he slink off to the U.S. a la the Shah with the bricks and eggs thrown by his people following? Will he be disposed of once his uselfulness is done like Dr. David Kelly? Or will he be sent to the Prisoner's Village because he knows too much?
Nahh.
Rupert Murdoch will be rewarding all that Blair has done to increase ratings and profits:
The media magnate Rupert Murdoch is expected to offer Tony Blair a senior role in his News Corporation empire when he stands down as Prime Minister.No one like him ever pays.
Labels: politics
¶ July 29, 2006 0 Comments
"What Do You Think You're Looking At, Sugar Tits?"--actual quote.
They might take his car, but they apparently were hesitant to take his freedom!
I didn't think it was possible, but Mel Gibson actually has less sense than I gave him credit for.
And if this was the sense that God gave him, maybe he should consider Marduk or something.
Apparently the cops did try to cover something up--Mel Gibson not only resisted arrest but launched into a crazy anti-semitic tirade. From TMZ:
TMZ has four pages of the original report prepared by the arresting officer in the case, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy James Mee. According to the report, Gibson became agitated after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway and told he was to be detained for drunk driving Friday morning in Malibu. The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, "My life is f****d." Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated. As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, "I'm not going to get in your car," and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.
TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.
Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me."
The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"
The deputy became alarmed as Gibson's tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, "What the f*** do you think you're doing?"
A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?"
We're told Gibson took two blood alcohol tests, which were videotaped, and continued saying how "f****d" he was and how he was going to "f***" Deputy Mee.
Gibson was put in a cell with handcuffs on. He said he needed to urinate, and after a few minutes tried manipulating his hands to unzip his pants. Sources say Deputy Mee thought Gibson was going to urinate on the floor of the booking cell and asked someone to take Gibson to the bathroom.
After leaving the bathroom, Gibson then demanded to make a phone call. He was taken to a pay phone and, when he didn't get a dial tone, we're told Gibson threw the receiver against the phone. Deputy Mee then warned Gibson that if he damaged the phone he could be charged with felony vandalism. We're told Gibson was then asked, and refused, to sign the necessary paperwork and was thrown in a detox cell.
...Sources say Mee was told Gibson's comments would incite a lot of "Jewish hatred," that the situation in Israel was "way too inflammatory." It was mentioned several times that Gibson, who wrote, directed, and produced 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," had incited "anti-Jewish sentiment" and "For a drunk driving arrest, is this really worth all that?"
We're told Deputy Mee was then ordered to write another report, leaving out the incendiary comments and conduct. Sources say Deputy Mee was told the sanitized report would eventually end up in the media and that he could write a supplemental report that contained the redacted information -- a report that would be locked in the watch commander's safe.
Initially, a Sheriff's official told TMZ the arrest occurred "without incident." On Friday night, Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told TMZ: "The L.A. County Sheriff's Department investigation into the arrest of Mr. Gibson on suspicion of driving under the influence will be complete and will contain every factual piece of evidence. Nothing will be sanitized. There was absolutely no favoritism shown to this suspect or any other. When this file is presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, it will contain everything. Nothing will be left out."
One would hope not. Lest you dismiss this, Gibson has now apologized for all of it. Gibson surely now understands what a fool he was(or in any event that it was all on tape) and how bad this could be for him now that this information is spreading like Ebola, because he's already playing the Addiction Excuse in his statement:
"After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the L.A. County sheriff's. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person.
"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said.
"Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry.
"I have battled the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."
Also, if Mel Gibson owns Malibu, apparently by his logic we have him to fear as much as he thinks we have to fear Jews. How did this one very important place, home to so many in the media he thinks they control, escape their grasp, one wonders? Valiant Mel, saving Malibu from ZOG. What power! Our hero!
And look how he's embarrassed all the Christians who defended him over that miserable piece of garbage, The Passion of the Christ. But then, I suppose they're used by now to putting their faith in figures that lead them over a cliff; isn't that really the definition of religion?
What this reveals about his true snivelling character tells me that what I've thought of, and said about, him all along is perfectly true.
As is this report.
Labels: film, Mel Gibson, right wing
¶ July 29, 2006 0 Comments
Seems to be an Australian theme today!
As you all know, Mel Gibson is just my favoritest film star of all and I cannot get enough of his brilliant work. That's why I was so sad at the incredibly surprising news that such a mature, intelligent and sane man should be caught for drunk driving.
Oops.
I mean, you'd think he'd have the smarts to bribe the cop. Silly Mel.
Labels: Mel Gibson
¶ July 28, 2006 0 Comments
I'm doing a lot of organizing and making new stuff this week, so my apologies for light blogging. But here. You get this instead:
Labels: politics
¶ July 28, 2006 0 Comments
Well, actually, it should be the shirt on your back. I've just added at the Bottomless Studio Shameless Merchandising Shop the official (well, only) and stylish Vladrushka Black T-Shirt, featuring the design below(click to enlarge):
And a camisole and more...
Not to mention both huge and wee posters of the fuller version of this image, which is the faux-movie poster cover for Gulag Gangbang, to be published in December by Fantagraphics/Eros Comix:
As well as stickers, magnets, mugs, beer steins, coasters, postcards and even a clock...
(My favorite is the throw pillow)
And much more, also including the Nostalgia In a Nutshell, Red On Blue, Dubyaverse and NRA Parents products(such as the NRA Parents dog t-shirt and Red On Blue BBQ Apron) we already have available:
All custom-designed by me personally. Exclusively at the Bottomless Shameless Merchandising Shop. Go buy some goodies and be the instant envy of everyone you don't know!
Labels: sex symbol, smut, vladrushka
¶ July 26, 2006 0 Comments
Originally published in Spark-Online, a little reminder of what helped get this country where it is. Now available as a t-shirt. Buy one (or many) today!
Labels: politics
¶ July 24, 2006 0 Comments
More inappropriate touching from Georgie, who's really on a roll this week. Is he losing it or something? Where's his minders?
Maybe in Texas, bitchslapping a guy
in public is considered affectionate.
His first NAACP convention and he thinks it's to take out his frustrations on African-Americans? Uh...
But at least Bush is doing his own dirty work for a change.
Labels: politics
¶ July 21, 2006 0 Comments
...a shortened version of the Big Lebowski. (hat tip to Defamer)
Labels: politics
¶ July 21, 2006 0 Comments
The two very different perspectives on the Lebanon War from Israeli and Arab news.
Isn't it odd that Israeli news too features a blonde newsbunny with an unambiguously American accent speaking in English, and this is the "official" Israeli news service? Ah well.
And is there more to this than Israel simply being aggressive? They are getting awfully crowded, which is one of the main reasons the issue of the settlements in Gaza even exists. It reminds me of an old German word.
Liebensraum.
Labels: politics
¶ July 20, 2006 0 Comments
And now, some Sealab 2021.
And a bonus: The Skeletor Show!
Labels: politics
¶ July 20, 2006 0 Comments
They just can't take this retard anywhere. From the G8 Conference, a big ol' lump of what the fuck? (more photos here)
Now the question is, what did Bush think he was doing here?
His saying "shit" almost humanized him a little, but it only distracted from this, which shows he's a patronizing, sexist pig. I know there must have been some contextual reason he mistakenly thought this groping was welcome, but...what could it possibly have been?
Look at the particular type of embarrassed expression on his face, as though he'd just been awakened, rudely.
Is it possible he was drunk? Do you think maybe he usually saves it for summertime, when he is usually on vacation and not in public like this?
Would that explain why his most bizarre missteps seem to occur in the summer?
And in a lighter vein, here's Jon Stewart on the matter:
Labels: politics
¶ July 19, 2006 0 Comments
In a serious but well-deserved blow to the gelatinous porkers that I see huffing and puffing their way down the street at less than even a normal walking pace, Chicago, in its ongoing drive to find more ways to collect fines, may make trans fats illegal.
This man, for one, is pissed. I assume.
Hey buddy, I'm thin, but I'm a smoker, so welcome to my world.
But wait--you can't put your fat out, can you? Or chew gum instead, since with you chewing is part of the problem. Ah well. I anxiously await the "no fat" sections in restaurants.
Labels: politics
¶ July 18, 2006 0 Comments
A blog I just found that you may want to read, bookmark, and return to in the coming days; the first-person perspective of a fellow stuck in Beirut right now in the middle of the beginning of WWIII.
Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Israel are turning Lebanon into killing fields. My beautiful country is being burned by crazy ideologies. My Lebanon of joy is being eaten by human monsters. My kind Lebanon is being butchered in the name of religion.
Our enemy Israel is killing us but at least its civilians are dying and it is paying the price of its military adventure, so is Hezbollah. But the cowards of Syria and Iran are sitting and watching civilians die and smiling cunningly.
The cowards of Syria and Iran are selling their oil at unprecedented prices and are reaping the political and economic benefits while we are loosing our children and billions of dollars.
Those cowards are buying and selling our lives for their regimes' interests. The blood of Lebanese children is being traded like options, futures and shares and the Iranian and Syrian regimes are filling both their strategic and financial pockets.
Labels: politics
¶ July 18, 2006 0 Comments
Why is Barbara Boxer--vociferously against the Iraq War--helping Joe Lieberman?
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE. (c)2006 Tom Tomorrow
Labels: politics
¶ July 17, 2006 0 Comments
Awww!
Apparently, it came from Ohio. But lots of weird things do.
(courtesy of Boing Boing.)
Labels: politics
¶ July 17, 2006 0 Comments
Though Bush seems to have nothing but pigs and babies on his mind in the midst of Armageddon in Lebanon, an open mike at the G8 conference caught him talking with Tony Blair, in a much more candid mood. I quote:
Bush replied: "See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over."Watch (or listen) as Bush delivers these crucial words without pausing to finish chewing!
So we certainly know now that this is happening with, at the very least, the tacit support of the U.S., despite what Tony Snowjob would have us believe. And as far as their relations with Syria, did Lebanon not recently eject Syrian troops from its country? And what does that tell you about any influence they may have on Syrian decisions now? Has Bush kept up? Or can he not tell the countries apart?
Are we at all sure the Lebanese government have any means of stopping Hezbollah, or is Israel just throwing more civilians into its arms and creating even more terrorists--at least of those people that will be left once Israel bombs it back to the Cenozoic?
Speaking of arms:
Dr. Yousef Akkash is a French-educated surgeon and Adel's brother. It is his job to oversee the funeral, as his father is too distraught to do so. He enters the basement of a mosque near the family home and joins two doctors whose job it is to separate out body parts and try to figure out which part should go in which grave. It's extremely messy. Finally, with a cleric's approval, they decide to put the 12 mangled corpses into six graves.
Dr. Adel claims to not know if his brother really was a Hezbollah official but says he hopes it's true, "so there can be some reason behind this tragedy."
He's upset and angry but can still talk of peace with the people who did this. "All people want peace," he tells me in English. "As do the people of Lebanon, but we need justice amid this occupation. We want peace and justice for all people, Muslim and Christian, Arab and Jew."
But in the makeshift morgue he holds up part of a baby's body and asks the recoiling reporters to come closer.
"Come see the arms and weapons my brother had," he says, holding up a tiny arm. "Here is your 'terrorist.'"
...A man named Tahir Ahmed asks me where I am from. When I tell him, without a trace of hostility he asks me to "tell the American people we are thankful for your country because it gives weapons to Israel that are used to kill our children."
Now who do you think will get the revenge later for what Israel is doing now over a couple of captured soldiers? (As though that were anything but a pretext; what do people think this is, Saving Matt Damon?)
From any number of angles, this action, and our support of it, smells like a horrible mistake, and not just for the obvious reasons. We will most definitely see.
But at the same time, this seems to also be opening up a rift in the Arab world.
Meanwhile, the General lets us know how the compassionate conservatives are reacting to this (mostly at Free Republic):
...boo friggin hoo...
...just eliminating future terrorists IMO...
...We need to make the bomblets that are packed into standard Cluster bombs smaller. No need to be wasteful. The environment and all that...
...Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim...
Labels: politics
¶ July 17, 2006 0 Comments
Continuing the vertical integration of all human thought: the Onion may be bought by Viacom soon.
I can't wait for the first story:
"We've Already Established What You Are; Now We're Just Haggling About the Price."
*thanks to Steve Gerber.
Labels: politics
¶ July 17, 2006 0 Comments
Note: Actually, the above baby is German. But still...
Labels: politics
¶ July 17, 2006 0 Comments
Seems that Pete Coors got himself arrested on a DUI in May. Goodness me! So much for any future political plans of his.
The Former Senate Candidate and Drunk Driver.
Remember, Mr. Coors: drink responsibly.
"American beer is like making love in a canoe. It's fucking close to water."--Eric Idle.
Labels: politics
¶ July 13, 2006 0 Comments
Seems he thinks so with his little idea of an electrified wall around America(well, at least where Mexico is; I assume he's not fearing Canadians).
I also say we need to do a few other things on top of that wall, and one of them being to put a little bit of wire on top here to provide a disincentive for people to climb over the top or put a ladder there. We could also electrify this wire with the kind of current that would not kill somebody, but it would simply be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it. We do that with livestock all the time.But then, "livestock" is how their American employers treat them, so why shouldn't he just admit it? Between this, his support of English as an official language, and his participation in efforts to get rid of the Voting Rights Act...
On May 10, 2006, HR 9 passed the House Judiciary Committee on a vote of 33-1. The one vote against was from Rep. Steve King (R-IA), Rep. Lewis said, adding King’s opposition had been over the issue of language protections for voters who speak languages other than English. Rep. King would like to ship all illegal immigrants out of the US in buses, Rep. Lewis said; the Voting Rights Act does not apply to illegal immigrants, only to US citizens, however.
Labels: politics
¶ July 13, 2006 0 Comments
Whoa. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, where I was born and raised, has provided me my first-ever reason to link to what appears to be now a hybrid of what used to be the morning & evening papers where I lived, the Post-Courier of Charleston. Hey, let's look at an excerpt of what has to be both the ballsiest and stupidest lie a senator ever put together:
He's being accused of fabricating a Senate debate and sending it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which didn't think much of the work. The high court dismissed it.
At issue is an account of an exchange that Sens. Graham, R-S.C., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., wrote last year to be inserted into the Congressional Record.
It details what the two lawmakers purported was part of the Senate's debate over why terror detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should not be tried in civilian U.S. courts.
The actual discussion Graham and Kyl inserted in the Record never took place.
Oh, just read the rest. It's high comedy all by its found self.
I met him once when he spoke at my high school, and I think I may have gone to school with a kid of his. Mr. Graham was always, I'm afraid, a putz.
__________*Before the flames begin, I am Southern. Well, a recovering Southerner, anyway.
Labels: politics
¶ July 13, 2006 0 Comments
An online contest seeks the darker side of children's entertainment icons. (click to see examples; apparently they're not allowing me to leech their images, the cruel bastards.)
Labels: politics
¶ July 12, 2006 0 Comments
From Robert Ellsberg at the Huffington Post. Find them here.
Labels: politics
¶ July 12, 2006 0 Comments
But don't let every single thing they do right in front of your nose be your only guide. There's now a 50-year study that has been completed (see John Dean in the video below explaining it) that has concluded that cons are more likely than anyone else to march in lockstep.
...OLBERMANN: And the idea of leaders and followers going down this path or perhaps taking a country down this path requires -- this whole edifice requires and enemy. Communism, al Qaeda, Democrats, me... whoever for the two-minutes hate. I overuse the Orwellian analogies to nauseating proportions. But it really was, in reading what you wrote about, especially what the academics talked about. There was that two-minutes hate. There has to be an opponent, an enemy, to coalesce around or the whole thing falls apart. Is that the gist of it?DEAN: It is one of the things, believe it or not, that still holds conservatism together. There is many factions in conservatism and their dislike or hatred of those they betray as liberal, who will basically be anybody who disagrees with them, is one of the cohesive factors. There are a few others but that's certainly one of the basics. There's no question that, particularly the followers, they're very aggressive in their effort to pursue and help their authority figure out or authority beliefs out. They will do what ever needs to be done in many regards. They will blindly follow. They stay loyal too long and this is the frightening part of it.
OLBERMANN: Let me read something from the book. Let me read this one quote then I have a question about it. "Many people believe that neoconservatives and many Republicans appreciate that they are more likely to maintain influence and control of the presidency if the nation remains under ever-increasing threats of terrorism, so they have no hesitation in pursuing policies that can provoke the potential terrorists throughout the world." That's ominous, not just in the sense that authoritarians involved in conservatism and now Republicanism would politicize counter-terror here which we've already argued that point on many occasions. Are you actually saying that they would set up -- encourage terrorism from other countries to set them up as a boogey man to have, again, that group to hate here -- more importantly, afraid of?
DEAN: What I'm saying is that there has been fear mongering, the likes of which we have not seen in a long time in this country. It happened early in the cold war. We got accustomed to it. We learned to live with it. We learned to understand what it was about and get it in proportion. We haven't done that yet with terrorism. And this administration is really capitalizing on it and using it for its' political advantage. No question, the academic testing show -- the empirical evidence shows -- when people are frightened, they tend to go to these authority figures. They tend to become more conservative. So, it's paid off for them politically to do this...
Labels: politics
¶ July 11, 2006 0 Comments
It isn't exactly shocking that the monster Augusto Pinochet, former murderous tyrant of Chile, would have amassed his huge fortune from selling the U.S. cocaine. That is to say, the supposed target of our hilarious "war on drugs."
That's because we already knew that the CIA, on the other September 11, both put him there and have long been known to have been major importers of cocaine. So that must have been damn convenient.
The war on drugs is just one more example of how we only fight enemies we've deliberately created.
Labels: politics
¶ July 11, 2006 0 Comments
Have a look at this excellent NYT piece on my favorite newsman, Keith Olbermann.
Labels: politics
¶ July 11, 2006 0 Comments
As long as music seems to be the theme today, let's fast forward to the present: here's a recent performance on Letterman from a new band I'm becoming ridiculously fond of, She Wants Revenge, doing their painfully catchy song "Tear You Apart." Try not to dance.
Also "These Things," which seems to be my theme song these days...
Bad news for someone like me whose life Pink Floyd saved as a teen. The tragic founder of the band, Syd Barrett--or Brian Wilson for cool people, as I like to think of him--has died at the age of 60 of complications relating to diabetes (though the Guardian for some reason thinks it was cancer).
Rest in peace, Syd.
Jug Band Blues
(the last song Syd ever recorded with Pink Floyd, from A Saucerful of Secrets)
It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here
And I'm most obliged to you for making it clear
That I'm not here.
And I never knew the moon could be so big
And I never knew the moon could be so blue
And I'm grateful that you threw away my old shoes
And brought me here instead dressed in red
And I'm wondering who could be writing this song.
I don't care if the sun don't shine
And I don't care if nothing is mine
And I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the winter.
And the sea isn't green
And I love the queen
And what exactly is a dream?
And what exactly is a joke?
Some more rare Syd footage:
Setting the example the rest of the media should follow, he hangs up on Ann Coulter. Crooks & Liars has the details.
Way to go, Adam!
Labels: politics
¶ July 09, 2006 0 Comments
See, the villainous Gen. J.C. Christian, in his continuing, deluded attempts to defend his dying party, thinks he can set up a page where you can donate to Democratic candidates and fool us. Fool us how? He claims that he wants Democrats elected this cycle. Does this sound like the General we know? He says this and thinks we'll believe him.
And by reverse psychology, obviously he hopes to depress these donations, keep Republicans in office, and continue his war (which he should marry if he loves it so much) in Iraq till doomsday. Which will not come, so...
...according to Rush, Mr. Hannity, and that guy at the coffe shop who’s always ranting about commies, the Frenchmen in the Democratic Party will be much, much worse...It’ll prove once and for all that Republicans aren’t the most inept elected officials on the planet. At least, that’s what I hope.
Well, his plan won't work if we all call his bluff and actually use his page to give to those candidates, and pass on the link to our friends and families, and have them give as well.
And then the so-called General will shriek in horror, "But--but how could my plan fail? I planned it so well!"
I mean, he thinks we're from France and can't even spell "coffee." How can he be allowed to win?
Labels: politics
¶ July 08, 2006 0 Comments
By way of Boing Boing, the retarded and piggy Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, he of the infamous Very Expensive Bridge To Nowhere, and his incredibly idiotic explanation of traffic congestion on the internet. My personal favorite quote:
I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially.
Labels: politics
¶ July 08, 2006 0 Comments
Some very astute words from one of Andrew Sullivan's readers:
Actually, I don't consider you a conservative anymore either, for the same reasons I don't consider myself one anymore. In this day, in this country, to be a conservative is to buy into a program of relativism and deconstructionism (scientific knowledge in evolution and climate science is just one "perspective" or is totally unreliable because scientists are a bunch of liberals and science is just a political agenda). To be a conservative is to believe that good government rests on the personal character and godliness of an unshackled executive, not on the time-tested processes and institutions of democracy. To be a conservative is to let your worst enemies dictate your moral values. To be a conservative is to believe that insufficiently conservative judges are enemies of America and should be eliminated or marginalized as illegitimate.Above all, to be a conservative is to use the power of the government to Christianize Americans and the US government to the greatest extent possible.
Labels: politics
¶ July 08, 2006 0 Comments
His lawyer's motion signals that Hansen intends to argue that he was entrapped because the Administration allegedly told his superiors the calls were legal. The filing indicates, however, that Hansen does not have firsthand knowledge of Administration intervention.
Hansen’s lawyer offered an inside look of his defense strategy in yesterday's filing: his client will assert that he believed he was acting on behalf of the government and the Republican Party through his work with GOP Marketplace, the company which subcontracted the phone jamming efforts.
"Mr. Hansen may assert that the government, or an agent therof, actually induced the offenses with which Mr. Hansen is charged, and was not otherwise prediposed to commit," Hansen's lawyer Jeffrey Levin writes.
"Mr. Hansen may asserts [sic] the defense of "derivative entrapment" in which the government uses a private party as its agent," Levin adds.
Labels: politics
¶ July 08, 2006 0 Comments
That would be that the same rules apply now to straights and gays. At least in Massachussetts, where the Boston Globe is going to discontinue benefits to domestic partners unless they get married.
Well, I would call that fair. Just the same as if I were living with a woman, neither of us could tap into each others' health benefits. Onward goes the march of equality.
Labels: politics
¶ July 08, 2006 0 Comments
Because of recruiting shortfalls, neo-Nazis and skinheads are apparently getting into the military in disturbing numbers.
Which may make incidents such as Haditha more explicable.
Labels: politics
¶ July 07, 2006 0 Comments
Like Duke Cunningham, for instance, who was still soliciting bribes up to the day he pleaded guilty. Hey, those fancy toilets don't pay for themselves!
Duke Cunningham Enjoying His Constituency In Happier Days
Republicans. They just can't stop until their faces ram into a brick wall. as I've said often, hubris is their worst flaw. Their fatal flaw, if you will.
Labels: politics
¶ July 05, 2006 0 Comments
