Could an accidental war happen?

It wouldn't be an "accident" and it wouldn't be a "misstep."

Unless Congress does something about this administration soon, it'll be WWIII. You know it. I know it.

Could an accidental war happen? - Focus on Iran - MSNBC.com: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Citing Iranian involvement with Iraqi militias and Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Bush administration has shifted to offense in its confrontation with Iran — building up the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf and promising more aggressive moves against Iranian operatives in Iraq and Lebanon.
The behind-the-scenes struggle between the two nations could explode into open warfare over a single misstep, analysts and U.S. military officials warn."

R.I.P. Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins dies of cancer at 62 | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "AUSTIN, Texas — Best-selling author and columnist Molly Ivins, the sharp-witted liberal who skewered the political establishment and referred to President Bush as 'Shrub,' died Wednesday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 62."

Well this is pretty convenient, no?

Iran involvement suspected in Karbala compound attack - CNN.com: "BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Pentagon is investigating whether a recent attack on a military compound in Karbala was carried out by Iranians or Iranian-trained operatives, two officials from separate U.S. government agencies said."

So, intelligence agencies are saying there ain't much to the "Iran is a threat" claim. Looks like we're gonna get a rush of "Iran is responsible for..." news articles, in much the same way in 2002 we had dozens of "the terrorists are gonna get you by land, scuba diving, crop dusters, school lunches..."

I mean, with 79% of people voting on Newsweek.com that congress should stop Bush from escalating the Iraq war, the administration has to go back to the tried and true - scaring the shit out of America. 'Cause they've demonstrated that fear is, by far, the easiest thing with which to manipulate people.

c'mon dems. you can grow a set now

Ok Dems. The american people think that you need to tell Bush to STFU. Whatta ya think? Think you might be able to grow a set and say "NO" to Bush? A real no. Not a "non-binding" no. A. Real. No.

Might as well get some practice w/ Iraq, 'cause Iran is right around the corner. And, for looks, he'll come to you with the question of permission. And if (or when, please) you say NO, he'll go anyway.

Then what're ya gonna do?

Newsweek poll.

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 -- Page 1 -- TIME

Only 648 Days Until the Election!

And 746 days until the inauguration!

Toby Keith "never did" support the war

Didn't know that Toby Keith hated the troops so much. I mean, how can a person support the troops but not support what they are doing?

Guess Keith made more money by pretending to be so gung-ho about Bush's war. Wonder how different things would have been if people like Toby Keith would have come out against the war, say, FOUR YEARS ago? Think he might have been able to open some red-stater, NASCAR-fan eyes?

Toby Keith, angry American - Newsday.com: "Keith doesn't support the Iraq war -- 'Never did,' he says -- and he favors setting a time limit on the occupation. He says he suspects civil war in Iraq is inevitable and predicts the Kurds will be the victors: 'I promise you, they'll end up with it all.'"

Hot melon in your Budweiser?

C'mon, Anheuser-Busch!! Don't Fruit The Beer. Granted, it's a competitor's commercial, but it's still something to heed. I don't drink, but even if I did, I'd stay away from this. UGH.

Hot melon in your Budweiser? : "NEW YORK - The Belgians love their cherry beers. Americans like to squeeze lime into their longnecks. Now Anheuser-Busch Cos. figures beer lovers are ready for its new fruity beer additives called Spykes."

eBay: Melissa Etheridge 1989 CD/ Brave and Crazy. Pre lesbian

Interesting. What do you suppose the seller is trying to say? If "some things just ain't right" then why does s/he want to sell to someone who might be "searching another category"?

eBay: Melissa Etheridge 1989 CD/ Brave and Crazy. Pre lesbian (item 280075081067 end time Feb-01-07 16:57:13 PST): "Box and CD in very good shape, no cracks or scratches. Fast ship with first class mail. no fooling around here!
title just a shot at reaching someone searching another category. I love everyone just the same but some things just ain't right!"

Screenshot in case s/he changes the listing:

what the fuck kinda question is this??

"were the democrats sufficiently respectful...." What a load of shit.




I'm in the "why should they be" 24%

He's lucky they aren't gonna impeach his ass.

It's OK to be different

Mama Cass rocks. Even as a witch

I like the button on this dude's page

BobGeiger.com: It's True: Bush Proclaims Sunday "National Sanctity of Human Life Day": "In a formal White House proclamation issued Friday, George W. Bush declared January 21 National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2007.

'America was founded on the principle that we are all endowed by our Creator with the right to life and that every individual has dignity and worth,' reads the stirring proclamation. 'National Sanctity of Human Life Day helps foster a culture of life and reinforces our commitment to building a compassionate society that respects the value of every human being.'"

Amazing.

January 20, 2007: Third deadliest day for US forces in Iraq. Update: 25 died yesterday.

January 21, 2007: National "Sanctity of Life" day.

Bush, Hitler

Specifically, Grand daddy Prescott Bush. Whaddya s'pose would happen if, say, Hillary's grandfather was a Nazi?

White House: Can't rule out attack on Iran - CNN.com

White House: Can't rule out attack on Iran - CNN.com: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House said Sunday it is not planning military action against Iran, but refused to rule out the possibility, bucking pressure from several senators who said the administration is not authorized to do so.

Asked whether the United States is preparing for a potential military conflict with Iran, President Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley told NBC's 'Meet the Press,' 'No, the president has said very clearly that the issues we have with Iran should be solved diplomatically.'

But, on ABC's 'This Week,' Hadley would not rule out the possibility of such an attack and would not say whether he agrees with those senators who say that the Bush administration would need congressional backing for such a move."

Uh, last I looked it was still the United States of America and we still had a constitution. Of course, last I looked was yesterday. Things change so quickly these days.

Life in a Northern Town

Hm. Didn't know there were two videos for this song. I love this song. I have from the first time I heard it. There were a few stand-out songs for me from the 80s. Life in a Northern Town from The Dream Academy and Kayleigh by Marillion were a couple of them.

I guess this one is the 1985 version:


and this one is the 1984 version:


I think I prefer the 1984 version.

Marillion:

Is this person fucking serious? Christ, Almighty.

Federal Way schools restrict Gore film: "After a parent who supports the teaching of creationism and opposes sex education complained about the film, the Federal Way School Board on Tuesday placed what it labeled a moratorium on showing the film. The movie consists largely of a computer presentation by former Vice President Al Gore recounting scientists' findings.

'Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher,' said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven who also said that he believes the Earth is 14,000 years old. 'The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD.'"

A father of seven? Wow. His own basketball team with a small bench. I wonder, is Mr. Hardison a teacher? Does his viewpoint belong in a classroom? And is the earth really 14,000 years old? I thought it was somewhere between 6-and 8-thousand years. Where have I been?

Cockeyed view of the truth, huh? Yep, gimme those 'round-the-campfire stories about where we came from and why each tribe speaks a different language over science any day. Proof? We don't need no stinkin' proof. Besides, you can't handle the proof!! Just go on believing God created dinosaur bones as some trick or dastardly test of faith.

I'm curious...all you people that firmly believe that God created the world in seven days...do you really, really, really think that God would be happy with your global-warming denial? If, as you believe, God created this wonderful, beautiful planet with all it's flora and fawna and then made Man and gave Man "dominion" over the earth -- don't you think it's a bit egotistical of us to assume that we can destroy what God created?

News outlets don't want WH still photo

Would that the print reporters become as upset as the photogs. We might have had a whole different previous six years. The media outlets have been going along w/ the Bush li(n)e for years. Guess it's something this obvious that needs to get their attention.

Wires Reject Handout Photo Of Bush Speech: "Dennis Brack, a longtime White House photographer and president of the White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA), calls the limited access 'unacceptable' and says it is very unusual for a presidential address to be closed to photographers.

'It's not the first time I'm sure, but it's very infrequent, and I've been around since LBJ's time,' Brack says. 'The speech was a very historic speech of news value, and they elected to manage it as a public relations function.'"

Oops.

Independent Online Edition > Africa: "It was their tragedy to be misidentified in a secret operation by special forces attempting to kill three top al-Qa'ida leaders in south-ern Somalia.

Oxfam yesterday confirmed at least 70 nomads in the Afmadow district near the border with Kenya had been killed. The nomads were bombed at night and during the day while searching for water sources. Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Kenya has acknowledged that the onslaught on Islamist fighters failed to kill any of the three prime targets wanted for their alleged role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam."

Nomads in Somalia, locals in Greece. Some war on terror we got goin' here.

Did the President Declare "Secret War" Against Syria and Iran? | The Huffington Post

Ok, kitty-cat and the snow-buying man was a good diversion, for a bit. I must confess that I did not watch Mr. Bush's speech to the nation last night. I simply cannot stand to look at the man any more. It's much easier just to read it. And besides, I might have thrown something at my TV had I actually heard these words: We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

What's a nation to do, really? It doesn't matter what we think, what we do. He's gonna do whatever the hell he wants to, when he wants to, how he wants to. Americans didn't elect enough non-Republican senators to over-ride a veto, or stop a fillibuster. And, sad to say, the current Congress likely does not have the balls to actually remove this man from office. So, we're stuck with him for the next two years and we are fucked. Worst President Ever might be the last president ever. I certainly hope our great country survives this man.

The Blog Steve Clemons: Did the President Declare "Secret War" Against Syria and Iran? The Huffington Post: "Washington intelligence, military and foreign policy circles are abuzz today with speculation that the President, yesterday or in recent days, sent a secret Executive Order to the Secretary of Defense and to the Director of the CIA to launch military operations against Syria and Iran.

The President may have started a new secret, informal war against Syria and Iran without the consent of Congress or any broad discussion with the country."

Goliath

Kitty cat, roamin' the neighborhood, finds a doggie-door that leads to free food!!

Kitty cat gorges himself and then one day gets busted, 'cause he gets stuck in the doggie-door.

Goliath is up for adoption, y'all. All twenty pounds of him. (might have to disable pop-up blocker to veiw video)

Man buys snow on Ebay

When I first saw this on CNN.com, I thought the man was an idiot. Then, I watched the story, and I gotta tell you, I like this guy. More people should be like him. This man knows what it's all about.

Man buys Colorado snow. (might have to disable your popup blocker)

Post-speech "live" vote on MSNBC

Official: Bush plans 20,000 more troops for Iraq - CNN.com

Official: Bush plans 20,000 more troops for Iraq - CNN.com: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Wednesday night will announce a plan to send about 20,000 more troops to Iraq in an effort to pacify Baghdad, a U.S. official said."

Should he? Nope. Man, it's gonna be a long-ass two years, ain't it? CNN quick vote from this a.m.:

McCain, pt 2

McCain Refuses To Raise Taxes To Pay For War: ‘I’m Not Sure What The Point Would Be’: "In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was asked by Al Hunt whether he would support raising taxes on the very wealthy to help pay for a new $1 billion jobs creation program for Iraq that President Bush is set to unveil this week.

“I’m not sure what the point would be,” McCain said in response to whether wealthier Americans should be asked to pay more to offset the costs in Iraq. He added, “I’m not sure I would want to raise their taxes just because we’re in a war.”"

Of course not. Why should we? I mean, hell, we've got money in the budget for education, health care, infrastructure, natural disasters... take it from those line items. No sense in making life a bit incovenient for the super-rich, eh? They might have to sell a car or two. Or skip that vacation to Paris or the Bahamas this summer. Wouldn't want that, now, would we?

Besides, what would good would a job program in Iraq do? Help them build back the nation Bush has so effectively destroyed? Give them have a bit hope for the future? Maybe realize that al Qaeda isn't the answer to their problems? Hell, jobs in iraq might even give the "insurgents" something to do other than build IEDs that kill our troops. Taken to extremes, a good job program in Iraq might be one way we could get out of this mess. Again, wouldn't want that now, would we?

Bush better not say "sacrifice" one mother-fuckin' time in his little speech tomorrow night. And McCain better not utter that word ever again.

McCain

I was living in Arizona in 2000 when McCain ran for president. I've always been a democrat, but there was a part of me that wished Arizona had an open primary so I might be able to vote for McCain. I'd voted for him previously and, although he was a tad conservative for my taste, I always found him to be an honest, straightforward, stand-up-for-what-you-believe kinda guy.

The 2000 presidential race was brutal for McCain. People called asking if we knew that McCain had 'a black baby' and Cynthia McCain's drug addiction was front and center. There were (more than) rumors that McCain was crazy because he was a prisonor of war in Nam for five years. The Bush team dragged this man through the mud. It was horrible.

But he didn't resort to the same sort of name calling and character assassination. He just kept on, keepin' on. Being the honest, straighforward, stand-up-for-what-you-believe kinda guy he'd always been.

Howevery, over the past few years, McCain has lost all credibility. Is there any way on God's green Earth that you would associate, let alone support, a person that said those types of things about you, about your family? All politics or not, there comes a time when lines get crossed and there's no going back. At least there should be.

Sadly, it seems the Straight Talk Express has not only run out of gas, it's been impounded, stripped, and crushed for scrap.

McCain's biggest flip-flops.

It's always been about the oil.

And if you ever thought otherwise, you were either willfully ignorant, extremely gullible, or too damned lazy to pay attention.

From the Independent in the UK (again, another story that the US media should have front and center for weeks and weeks, but won't...) Future of Iraq: The spoils of war.

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.

The huge potential prizes for Western firms will give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. "So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies," he said.

Oil industry executives and analysts say the law, which would permit Western companies to pocket up to three-quarters of profits in the early years, is the only way to get Iraq's oil industry back on its feet after years of sanctions, war and loss of expertise. But it will operate through "production-sharing agreements" (or PSAs) which are highly unusual in the Middle East, where the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's two largest producers, is state controlled.
...
They lied:
Proposing the parliamentary motion for war in 2003, Tony Blair denied the "false claim" that "we want to seize" Iraq's oil revenues. He said the money should be put into a trust fund, run by the UN, for the Iraqis, but the idea came to nothing. The same year Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, said: "It cost a great deal of money to prosecute this war. But the oil of the Iraqi people belongs to the Iraqi people; it is their wealth, it will be used for their benefit. So we did not do it for oil."

Happy fucking New Year, eh?

Why is it, do you suppose, that American media isn't putting this on the front page?

Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran - Sunday Times - Times Online: "ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.
Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.


The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb. "

I love my state

But this is getting a bit silly, doncha think??

Animals Are Beautiful People

Animals Are Beautiful People has been a favorite movie since I was a kid. And I absolutely love this part. Drunk animals. What could be better?

The sanctity of marriage...

Ok, it's not a marriage, yet. Let's hear it for them family values the christianits are trying so hard to preserve.

Man allegedly KO’s fiancée hours after ‘yes’ - Criminal Peculiarity - MSNBC.com: "YORK, Pa. - A man who proposed to his girlfriend at a New Year's party allegedly knocked her out with a steering wheel lock just hours after she said yes, police said.

Stephen Mujerm, 40, of Lanham, Md., and new fiancée Victorine Taboh began arguing about 6 a.m. Monday as they drove home from the party in northern York County."

How the Government has screwed with science...

The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science.

First they came for the sheep...

Christ. Homosexuality is not a disease. It's not a disorder. It's not something that needs to be cured. Perhaps these American researchers could spend their time looking for, oh, I don't know .... a cure for cancer, perhaps?

Science told: hands off gay sheep - Sunday Times - Times Online: "SCIENTISTS are conducting experiments to change the sexuality of “gay” sheep in a programme that critics fear could pave the way for breeding out homosexuality in humans.

The technique being developed by American researchers adjusts the hormonal balance in the brains of homosexual rams so that they are more inclined to mate with ewes.

It raises the prospect that pregnant women could one day be offered a treatment to reduce or eliminate the chance that their offspring will be homosexual. Experts say that, in theory, the “straightening” procedure on humans could be as simple as a hormone supplement for mothers-to-be, worn "

More snow...

Snow on my deck. 4 inches. Not all of my town got that much. Other parts of the state that don't need even 1/16th of an inch got more, though...

Embryos saved in Katrina now nearly real children

I am happy that this family is going to have their second child. And I'm happy for them that they won't have to spend another $15,000 for the second round of in-vitro that they would have undoubtedly had to go through if these embryos would have been destroyed.

But I think it is disgusting that the National Guard was used for this "rescue mission." How fucked up must one's priorities be to send the National fucking Guard out for embryos.

And all they had to go through to save these frozen things. If only the people in charge would have work has hard to save already born people. Say, those stuck in the Superdome, perhaps.

Birth imminent for embryo saved post-Katrina - Pregnancy - MSNBC.com: "Fearing the embryos would be ruined, she contacted a state lawmaker, who called Gov. Kathleen Blanco, and on Sept. 11, Illinois officers on loan to Louisiana set out in National Guard trucks, towing flat-bottomed boats.

A flat surface was essential: The 35- and 40-liter nitrogen tanks, which weigh 75 and 90 pounds, had to stay upright. If one tipped over, the nitrogen would spill.

In the hospital parking lot, the boats puttered past cars still flooded almost up to their windows. The boats were taken through the flooded halls, and the embryos were floated out. They were taken across town to a hospital that had not flooded."

Sure, now they want us...

'Don't ask, tell' proponent: Military now ready for gays - CNN.com: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army general who was Joint Chiefs chairman when the Pentagon adopted its 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays says he no longer opposes allowing them to serve openly.

John Shalikashvili, who retired in 1997 after four years as the nation's top military officer, had argued that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would hurt troop morale and recruitment and undermine the cohesion of combat units. He said he has changed his mind after meeting with gay servicemen.

'These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers,' Shalikashvili wrote in an opinion piece in Tuesday's New York Times."

Where was Shalikashvili when Bush was firing 55 Arabic service members because they were gay.

Life Is A Rock

Just a little video I made...