things you should know

Jon Kyl Rick Renzi J.D. Hayworth John Doolittle Richard Pombo Brian Bilbray Marilyn Musgrave Doug Lamborn Rick O'Donnell Christopher Shays Vernon Buchanan Joe Negron Clay Shaw Bill Sali Peter Roskam Mark Kirk Dennis Hastert Chris Chocola John Hostettler Mike Whalen Jim Ryun Anne Northup Geoff Davis Michael Steele Gil Gutknecht Michele Bachmann Jim Talent Conrad Burns Jon Porter Charlie Bass Mike Ferguson Heather Wilson Peter King John Sweeney Tom Reynolds Randy Kuhl Robin Hayes Charles Taylor Steve Chabot Jean Schmidt Deborah Pryce Joy Padgett Melissa Hart Curt Weldon Mike Fitzpatrick Don Sherwood Lincoln Chafee Bob Corker George Allen Frank Wolf Mike McGavick Dave Reichert Ned Lamont Ben Cardin Debbie Stabenow Claire McCaskill Jon Tester Bob Menendez Harold Ford James Webb John Salazar Jim Marshall John Barrow Leonard Boswell Melissa Bean Phil Hare Julia Carson Brad Miller John Murtha Alan Mollohan Gabrielle Giffords Diane Farrell Chris Murphy Ed Perlmutter Bruce Braley Tammy Duckworth Joe Donnelly Brad Ellsworth Baron Hill Christine Jennings Tim Mahoney Ron Klein John Yarmuth Heath Shuler Patty Wetterling Patricia Madrid Kirsten Gillibrand Michael Arcuri Jack Davis Mary Jo Kilroy Zack Space Lois Murphy Patrick Murphy Joe Sestak Chris Carney Phil Kellam Steve Kagen

But, if I said something that was truly offensive, please let me know what it was so I can retract it and use it on someone I want to offend (you sonsofbitches know who you are!)
--democommie | 10.22.05 - 10:53 am

downy mildew?

the Shrub is starting to drop leaves.

indictments loom on the horizon and Miers withdrew her nomination. apparently, even cronyism isn't enough to outweigh blatant incapability for a position sometimes. it is likely there will soon be a new 'credible' terrorist threat to distract us from these issues but, like WellMuerte's latest ad campaign, the truth is getting harder and harder to hide.

Delay's lawyer was stupid enough to blatantly lie in court. although mainstream press agencies continue to present biased and misleading information in the case, it is unlikely to sway the 'court of public opinion'. in other news, the Shrub's own father sides against him in a recent New Yorker piece.

possible termination looms for Judith Miller from the new conservative mouthpiece and propaganda machine The NYT. granted, these last few years, its "all Shrub's agenda that is fit to print" unless one is reading the Op-Ed pieces. perhaps this move marks a shift back to less-biased reporting? nah, now i am just talking crazy!

finally, last night there were thousands of candlelit vigils across the US to mourn the death of the 2,000th American soldier in Iraq. mind this leaves aside the many dead contractors and mercenaries working for the US as well as the many more thousands of innocent dead Iraqis. also, lest one forget, most military experts agree that the number of persons permanently disabled or maimed is usually 10 times the number of dead. for obvious reasons, the government does not keep tallies on this subject. in this case, that would be 20,000 brave servicepersons. this probably underestimates the number of maimed and disabled given the remarkable decrease in total mortality secondary to changes in battlefield medicine protocols.

Simon says: Google 'Failure'

and click "I'm feeling lucky"

if you did as Simon says, you went here.

here is the explanation.

oh, what an excellent chuckle...

but Bush believes in freedom, justice and democracy. no really.

Bush today again called for the American people to stand firm and unwavering behind him regarding the Iraq war, stressing that "the war in Iraq was vital to a crucial struggle against terrorists who he said intended to build a "totalitarian empire" of global reach."

simultaneously, the White House brought full pressure to bear on (Republican) Senator McCain for his successful passage of an amendment that would "ban use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in United States government custody." this bill passed the Senate by a vote of 90 to 9, yet the Bush Administration is going to veto it if it passes the House because it might limit our 'flexibility' in fighting wars. because that is what we should be afraid of, constraints on our yogic skills of contortion. not the safety of our troops, the defilement of 'American' values of honesty and justice, the undermining of endeavours in other lands by the mixed message such behavior sends.

i am so disgusted i could vomit. i leave you with words from Senator McCain:
"Many of my comrades were subjected to very cruel, very inhumane and degrading treatment, a few of them even unto death. But every one of us - every single one of us - knew and took great strength from the belief that we were different from our enemies."

hang in there, John! don't let the bastard get you down. you are helping us remind our children that 'right' is not a sliding scale, that morality is not morality if subject to convenience, and that America can be great only if we stand by our values.