No surprise here.

FEMA Told to Resume Storm Aid - washingtonpost.com: "The Bush administration unconstitutionally denied aid to tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and must resume payments immediately, a federal judge ordered yesterday."

Vilsack to run for president

Let's hope he's more than a "long shot." I don't know much about him. I know he's not Hillary nor is he Obama. Two people I really hope the dems don't put forward in 2008.

All Headline News - Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack Launches Bid For Presidency In 2008 - November 30, 2006: "Mount Pleasant, IA (AHN) - Iowa State Governor Tom Vilsack on Thursday launched his 'long shot' campaign for the presidency in 2008. Visack, the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa since 1968, also became the opening Democrat to declare for the 2008 race. "

It snowed

In october, there was quite the storm that went through Colorado. It missed my town, though. This is the first real snow of the season here. Pics are from a webcam at the local university. I love snow.

Proof that most of the music in the last 7 years has sucked?

So, Time magazine has given us its opinion of the Top 100 albums of All Time.

Of the nine releases from the "2000's" -- 4 of them are career-spanning compilations from Hank Williams, Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley and Muddy Waters. Perhaps it's because we don't have the benefit of hindsight. Or perhaps music from this decade simply sucks.

They say they are looking for the "most influential" albums. I can see that if I look at the earlier decades listed. I don't see how anything in the last few years could rise to the level of "influential." How would we know that at this point.

I also don't really see how a compliation could "influence" anyone. I mean, they have two Elvis releases -- one in the 90s and one in the 00s, but not one from the 50s. Makes no sense. You'd think this one would have made the list:



What about Sam Cooke? If a complilation of his music is so influential, why isn't this LP listed?



And, following suit, Muddy Waters and Hank Williams don't have any "influential" albums listed in their respective decades. You'd think they'd leave off the compilations and put the actual albums on the list.

Naturally, any list like this will be completely subjective. I suppose anyone can think of a dozen or so LPs that should be on the list, but aren't. Or would be on one's personal Top 100.

I'd add this one:


And this one:

My record collection

John Mellencamp: Cherry Bomb

Probably one of the best Mellencamp songs ever.

Happy Thanksgiving

CNN, Nancy Grace sued

And I hope this family wins, and wins big. Nancy Grace has done more damage to "innocent until proven guilty" than Bush has done to the Constitution, and that's no small accomplishment. Yeah, yeah, I know. She's not an active attorney and she's not actually practicing law on Headline News and/or Court TV. But I'm sure she's crossed not a few ethical lines. Perhaps the Georgia Bar could keep its eye on her.

Family of missing boy's mother sues CNN, Nancy Grace - CNN.com: "'Even after learning of Melinda's death, CNN and the show's producers made the decision to air the interview between Melinda and Nancy Grace,' Deratany said. 'It was with complete disregard for the family and without their consent or authorization, which is morally repugnant.'
'Three or four hours after Mindy had died, I was still in a state of shock,' Jerry Eubank told CNN affiliates WESH and WPTV. 'I'm watching this woman banging the table and screaming about 'Why aren't you telling us this, or that.' She was judge, jury and executioner.'"

Right Wing Watch: Robertson Says All Other Religions Worship “Demonic Powers”

This weekend, on a trip home, I listened to This American Life. It was the story of Carlton Pearson -- the Evangelical preacher now called a heretic because he had the audacity to say that perhaps there is no hell, and that when Jesus died for 'our' sins, he actually died for everyone's sins. That everyone has already been saved. No matter your relgious persuation, you must admit that this is a fairly amazing statement coming from an evangelical Christian. You can get his new book, God is Not a Christain, here.

In God is Not a Christian, Bishop Pearson courageously explores the exclusionary doctrines of mainstream religion and concludes that according to the evidence of the Bible and irrefutable logic, they cannot be true. Instead, he offers us the Gospel of Inclusion—the simple, stunning truth that everyone has already been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In this astonishing book, Pearson argues that the controlling dogmas of religion are the source of much of the world’s ills, and that we should turn our backs on proselytizing and holy wars and focus on the real Good News: that we are all bound for glory.

Now, how much more holy is that, than this crap from Pat Robertson? Now, Pat has been known to make some fairly outrageous statements. But seriously. If God made everyone in his image, didn't he create the Buddhists, and the Hindus and the Jews and the Muslims and the Witches and the atheists and the agnostics?

Who do you think Jesus would rather have represent him? The heretic, or Pat Robertson?

Right Wing Watch: Robertson Says All Other Religions Worship “Demonic Powers”: "No. They don’t have a relationship. There is the god of the Bible, who is Jehovah. When you see L-O-R-D in caps, that is the name. It’s not Allah, it’s not Brahma, it’s not Shiva, it’s not Vishnu, it’s not Buddha. It is Jehovah God. They don’t have a relationship with him. He is the God of all Gods. These others are mostly demonic powers. Sure they’re demons. There are many demons in the world. "

Hey there, American Citizen! Planning on flying overseas?

You might be interested in this it's a .pdf)

New rules for airlines from the Department of Homeland Security become effective January 14, 2007. If you take a flight out of the United States of America, even if you are a citizen of this great country, your name is gonna be forwarded to the DHS.

The new procedure will completely eliminate the opportunity for the public to find out how many people are on the list. No airline or cruise company will ever receive a "no-fly" or "selectee" list. Instead of providing a passenger manifest after departure as now required by the Customs and Border Patrol, airlines, cruise lines and other public carriers will have to provide a provisional pasenger list prior to departure. This list will be checked against a Homeland Security list of citizens approved for international travel, and the carrier will be ordered not to board those who are not approved. Read on.

US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely - Yahoo! News

US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees. "

and you thought Bush would only do it to the "terrorists" over there. You know, with the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and the death of habeas corpus with the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 that killed posse comitatus, we are only inches away from American Citizens being deemed "terrorists" had held indefinitely, with no right to know why, or what the eveidence is. Democratic control of the congress or not, this is not the America I was brought up to believe in. More evidence that the terrorists have won.

Soldiers' widows sue for pagan symbols on headstones

Let's hope the women win. If any group of people has been "persecuted" over the years, it'd be the Wiccans, not the Christians.

Soldiers' widows sue for pagan symbols on headstones - CNN.com: "The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs allows military families to choose any of 38 authorized headstone images. The list includes commonly recognized symbols for Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as those for smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckiankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie.
The Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, is not on the list, an omission that the widows say is unconstitutional.
...
The Army allows Wiccan soldiers to list their faith on dog tags, Wiccan organizations are allowed to hold services on military installations and the Army Chaplains Handbook includes an explanation of the religion, attorneys said."

And this vote surprises me. Just have to wait for the AFA to freep it, I guess.

Fog

Boy, we had some thick fog today. It snowed, lightly, in some parts of town last night. And as I was getting ready to go to work this morning...fog. So, I grabbed my camera and took some pics.

This is looking out my front door:

And this was a picture I took while driving (slowly) down the road. Personally, I think it's sort of a cool picture :)

PETA is now a terrorist organization -- Crooks and Liars

H.R. 4239 was introduced on November 4th. Its Senate companion bill (S. 3880) was passed UNANIMOUSLY in September.

Crooks and Liars » The War on Terror Comes Home: "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act - Rewrites federal criminal code provisions regarding animal enterprise terrorism to prohibit anyone from traveling in, or using the mail or any facility of, interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of damaging or disrupting an animal enterprise and, in connection with such purpose: (1) intentionally damaging, disrupting, or causing the loss of property used by or owned in connection with such enterprise; (2) intentionally placing a person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury to that person or a family member through threats, vandalism, property damage, trespass, harassment, or intimidation; or (3) conspiring or attempting to do so"

So, PETA is a terrorist organization now. Wonder who might be next? Let's hope that the democrats actually do bring a bit of sanity back to congress.

My Record Collection

Enough of politics for a bit. This song is another one of those songs that just makes me feel so good. Just takes me back, waaayyy back. And I like going back. Even if just for a little bit. ;)


Paul Rudgren
Think Of Me

Think of me
You know that I'd be with you if I could
I'll come around to see you once in a while
Or if I ever need a reason to smile
And spend the night if you think I should

Well, it's not impeachment of GWB, but it'll do

TIME.com: Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse -- Page 1: "Just days after his resignation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "

I have no sympathy for the man. it's the least that could happen.

Rove

The Allen Report - Mike Allen - Politics - Elections 2008 - TIME: "'Iraq mattered,' Rove says. 'But it was more frustration than it was an explicit call for withdrawal. If this was a get-out-now call for withdrawal, then Lamont would not have been beaten by Lieberman. Iraq does play a role, but not the critical, central role.'"

Has Mr. Rove forgotten that Ned Lamont did beat Leiberman?? He beat Lieberman in the democratic primary. Then Leiberman took that "sore loserman" nickname from 2000 to heart, switched to an independent, and ran again. So, the republicans that couldn't vote for Lieberman in the democratic primary could vote for Lieberman in the general election.

The Washington Post wrote on August 8, 2006: In a stark repudiation, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) narrowly lost the Democratic Senate primary here Tuesday night, falling to antiwar candidate Ned Lamont in a campaign that became a referendum on the incumbent's support for the Iraq war.

So, by virtue of the fact that Lieberman, while in the Democratic Party, acted more like a republican, and by virtue of the fact that Ned actually did beat Lieberman, it might actually be a "get out now" call. How quicky they forget, eh?

Rush is no longer the water-boy for the republicans

So, has Rush been lying all this time? Talking about things he didn't really believe in?

Rush On A Roll: I Feel Liberated: "I feel liberated, and I'm going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I no longer am going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried. "
...
"I'm not trying to tell you that this is about me. I'm just answering questions that I've had from people about how I feel. There have been a bunch of things going on in Congress, some of this legislation coming out of there that I have just cringed at, and it has been difficult coming in here, trying to make the case for it when the people who are supposedly in favor of it can't even make the case themselves -- and to have to come in here and try to do their jobs. I'm a radio guy! I understand what this program has become in America and I understand the leadership position it has. I was doing what I thought best, but at this point, people who don't deserve to have their water carried, or have themselves explained as they would like to say things but somehow aren't able to, I'm not under that kind of pressure."

George W. Bush thinks Americans are stupid

Bush, After Election `Thumping', Says He'll Work With Democrats - Yahoo! News: "``I thought when it was all said and done, the American people would understand the importance of taxes and the importance of security,'' Bush said today. ``But the people have spoken, and now it's time for us to move on.''"

Gee, thanks, Mr. Bush. Actually, I think the American people have a better grip on "the importance of taxes and the importance of security" than you do.

the gay mobile

This dude drove around my hometown a lot last week. Natch, the dude won. My state now has a constitutional amendment defining marriage, and a referendum to give gay people equal rights was defeated. But this guy is so cute, doncha think?

The good news is, for the first time in decades, Colorado's house is Democratic as is the governor. School funding lost, but those working for minimum wage won. Our corrupt republican county sherrif looks to be on his way out, too. Mixed bag for sure. But things are looking so much better.

Yup.

www.democrats.org

Who really supports the troops?

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have a nifty little scorecard for you to peruse. My favorite search is the state search. Pick a state, pick a senator or representative and poof! Scorecard on "supporting the troops."

John McCain (R-Ariz) -- D
Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) -- D-
Diane Feinstein (D-Calif) -- B+
Barbara Boxer -- (D-Calif) -- B+

Kansas is interesting. The only democrat gets an A-. The rest, no better than a C. The Senators (Brownback and Roberts) both get D's.

In Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) gets a D+. John Cornyn (R) gets a D-. The democratic representatives get A's & B's. The Republican representatives are mostly D's & F's with a few C's tossed in. There is one republican B.

Orin Hatch?? D. (republican)
Mike DeWine?? D+. (republican)
George Voinovich?? D. (republican)
Ted Kennedy?? B+. (democrat)
John Kerry?? B. (democrat)
Bill Frist?? D. (republican)
Lamar Alexander?? D. (republican)
Bill Nelson in Florida? A- (he's a democrat) His republican counterpart, Mel Martinez?? D.

You get the idea.

Cheaters

From the "you can't win if you don't cheat" file: "That's called lying and cheating in order to suppress the vote, and it's illegal. And the Republican party admits they're doing it."

There's this article on it. And a follow up post to go along with it. And more info from Americabog: The National Republican Campaign Committee admitted they're making the calls in an Associated Press article reported on TPM Muckraker last Wednesday.

Editorial calling for Rumsfeld's resignation -- in 4 military papers

So, it looks like the troops aren't supporting the troops. Why do the Armed Services hate America?

AMERICAblog: A blog for a great nation that deserves the truth: "Editor & Publisher was able to get the entire editorial via The Ross Report. It will be published Monday in the Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times. Here is the text:

TIME FOR RUMSFELD TO GO

'So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth.'

That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the 'hard bruising' truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington. One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: 'mission accomplished,' the insurgency is 'in its last throes,' and 'back off,' we know what we're doing, are a few choice examples."

Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office - New York Times

Thank God there's 4 days left until democrats get controll of congress. Then, perhaps, we can have some real investigations into what's been going on in the last 6 years.

Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office - New York Times: "Investigations led by a Republican lawyer named Stuart W. Bowen Jr. in Iraq have sent American occupation officials to jail on bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor construction work by well-connected companies like Halliburton and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces.

And tucked away in a huge military authorization bill that President Bush signed two weeks ago is what some of Mr. Bowen’s supporters believe is his reward for repeatedly embarrassing the administration: a pink slip.

The order comes in the form of an obscure provision that terminates his federal oversight agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, on Oct. 1, 2007. The clause was inserted by the Republican side of the House Armed Services Committee over the objections of Democratic counterparts during a closed-door conference, and it has generated surprise and some outrage among lawmakers who say they had no idea it was in the final legislation."

TIME.com: A Ransom Demand for the Missing U.S. Soldier

This is the fellow that the Bush administration turned their back on by taking down the roadblocks on Tuesday. You'd think that "cowboy diplomacy" would have meant that when the Iraq PM told the military to remove the roadblocks, Bush would have stepped in with those boots and that swagger and that fucking smirk, and told the PM where to stick it. This is one of our bravest after all.

My guess is that bush had no clue the soldier was even missing.

TIME.com: A Ransom Demand for the Missing U.S. Soldier -- Page 1: "A Ransom Demand for the Missing U.S. Soldier
The family of Iraqi-American Specialist Ahmed al-Taie tells TIME that his captors have demanded $250,000 for his release. But his family wants proof that he is alive"

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide

username and password (if you need it) can both be dailykos.

Ok, so the CIA trains bin Ladin 'cause we like what he's doing to fight the invading Russians during the cold war. (uh, that'd be the Reagan administration)

Then we give Saddam the weapons that he uses to gas the Kurds. (uh, the Reagan administration again, but then Bush, Sr., gets his undies in a bind over it and we go marching in, but we leave shortly thereafter, cutting and running from those we said we'd support. So, they all stand up and say, "hell yes, we'll fight Saddam!" and as soon as they "stand up" we "stand down" and leave them stranded and likely captured, tortured and killed.)

Now, republicans are giving Iran the blueprint to build the bomb. Brilliant. Fucking brilliant.

Are we really safer with Republicans in charge?

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide - New York Times: "Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.
But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb. "
...
The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs.

“For the U.S. to toss a match into this flammable area is very irresponsible,” said A. Bryan Siebert, a former director of classification at the federal Department of Energy, which runs the nation’s nuclear arms program. “There’s a lot of things about nuclear weapons that are secret and should remain so.”

Take a deep breath and....

name all the corrupt republicans in one breath. Win a hundred bucks. Not quite as easy as two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun, now is it?

See the video on AmericaBlog.

The Great Divider - New York Times

password and username can be dailykos if it makes you log in

The Great Divider - New York Times: "Mr. Bush has been pushing these divisive themes all over the nation, offering up the ludicrous notion the other day that if Democrats manage to control even one house of Congress, America will lose and the terrorists will win. But he hit a particularly creepy low when he decided to distort a lame joke lamely delivered by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Mr. Kerry warned college students that the punishment for not learning your lessons was to “get stuck in Iraq.” In context, it was obviously an attempt to disparage Mr. Bush’s intelligence. That’s impolitic and impolite, but it’s not as bad as Mr. Bush’s response. Knowing full well what Mr. Kerry meant, the president and his team cried out that the senator was disparaging the troops. It was a depressing replay of the way the Bush campaign Swift-boated Americans in 2004 into believing that Mr. Kerry, who went to war, was a coward and Mr. Bush, who stayed home, was a hero.Mr. Bush has been pushing these divisive themes all over the nation, offering up the ludicrous notion the other day that if Democrats manage to control even one house of Congress, America will lose and the terrorists will win. But he hit a particularly creepy low when he decided to distort a lame joke lamely delivered by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Mr. Kerry warned college students that the punishment for not learning your lessons was to “get stuck in Iraq.” In context, it was obviously an attempt to disparage Mr. Bush’s intelligence. That’s impolitic and impolite, but it’s not as bad as Mr. Bush’s response. Knowing full well what Mr. Kerry meant, the president and his team cried out that the senator was disparaging the troops. It was a depressing replay of the way the "

The Great Divider - New York Times

password and username can be dailykos if it makes you log in

The Great Divider - New York Times: "Mr. Bush has been pushing these divisive themes all over the nation, offering up the ludicrous notion the other day that if Democrats manage to control even one house of Congress, America will lose and the terrorists will win. But he hit a particularly creepy low when he decided to distort a lame joke lamely delivered by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Mr. Kerry warned college students that the punishment for not learning your lessons was to “get stuck in Iraq.” In context, it was obviously an attempt to disparage Mr. Bush’s intelligence. That’s impolitic and impolite, but it’s not as bad as Mr. Bush’s response. Knowing full well what Mr. Kerry meant, the president and his team cried out that the senator was disparaging the troops. It was a depressing replay of the way the Bush campaign Swift-boated Americans in 2004 into believing that Mr. Kerry, who went to war, was a coward and Mr. Bush, who stayed home, was a hero.Mr. Bush has been pushing these divisive themes all over the nation, offering up the ludicrous notion the other day that if Democrats manage to control even one house of Congress, America will lose and the terrorists will win. But he hit a particularly creepy low when he decided to distort a lame joke lamely delivered by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Mr. Kerry warned college students that the punishment for not learning your lessons was to “get stuck in Iraq.” In context, it was obviously an attempt to disparage Mr. Bush’s intelligence. That’s impolitic and impolite, but it’s not as bad as Mr. Bush’s response. Knowing full well what Mr. Kerry meant, the president and his team cried out that the senator was disparaging the troops. It was a depressing replay of the way the "

Yep, it's certainly the most important thing today

Not the fact that October 2006 was the 4th deadliest month in the Iraq war. Not that the Iraq PM can force our military to lift roadblocks when they are looking for a missing soldier. Nope. The most important news story of today is Kerry.