Sand Bag Blues


My thoughts and prayers go out to my fellow citizens in the Upper Midwest who are battling the second "100 year flood" in a decade and a half. Unfortunately, Gret Stet residents have at least some familiarity with this sort of tragedy...but you can be sure we'll do whatever we can to help, and you certainly WON'T ever hear me say anything like "it's their fault for living there" or other typical wingnut shrieking points.

Compassion...it's a mature thing.

More "Catastrophic Success"


Afghanistan:

Taliban militants staged a brazen bomb and rocket attack on the main prison in southern Afghanistan late Friday, blowing down the gate and helping hundreds of suspected insurgents flee, officials said. Many police officers were reported killed.

The complex attack included a truck bombing at the main gate, a suicide bomber who struck a back wall and rockets fired from outside, setting of a series of explosions that rattled Kandahar, the country's second biggest city.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said 30 insurgents on motorbikes and two suicide bombers attacked Sarposa Prison and freed about 400 Taliban members.

Dick Morris Not Only Establishes the TYPE of Person He Is...


He makes sure we don't have to haggle over his price.

What a ghoul.

Jindal, the Heir to Regan


I'm guess this story must've come out (to the national media) in the course of the vetting process...while I don't think it helps his cause, in my mind other factors weighed heavily against the prospect of a May-December ticket featuring McGruff and the WonderBoy McCain and Jindal.

What could be more problematic for PBJ is the long term fallout--while "exorcism" might not be quite as weird as, say, snake handling, neither is it something that garners prized space on a resume. Trying to explain could make things even worse.

Of course, what ultimately matters is whether or not the Chris Matthewses of this world consider it significant, and whether a "reasonable" explanation (i.e., "youthful indescretion of someone who took his faith seriously, although the ensuing 15-20 years have tempered his fervor," etc.) can be made. My guess is that the media will give him a free ride on this one...unless a potential rival manages to swift boat him with it (If I was doing GOP oppo research, I'd spring it during the South Carolina primary campaign), in which case all bets are off and the feeding frenzy begins. I get the feeling certain flavors of Catholicism are still viewed with suspicion in the Palmetto State.

Of course, it made zero difference here in the Gret Stet...neither in '03 nor '07.

Sigh.

Scalia: Waterboarding, Yes, Habeas Corpus, No


You know, it'd be one thing if Fat Tony was just some schlub on a barstool whining, bitching, and moaning about it all...but he's the second most senior Ass-ociate Justice on the Supreme Court.

Scary...

Plunging to New Depths


Small solace, but some solace--Bush, Cheney and Rice are still the faces of the Republican Party. Wingnuts voted for and supported these idiots.

That's all that should need to be said.

Southern Living

My newest neighbor...

Sorry for the slow post day--again--but by way of excuse...I've been shelling out $$$$ from my emergency home repair/maintence fund for emergency repair/maintence, specifically, removal of some trees that were potentially hazardous (they were leaning precariously in the direction of the house)...and a different sort of threat.

Um...for a couple of weeks I'd been hearing some scratching above the ceiling in a back room. Either fortunately or unfortunately it's a part of the attic that I can't get into--an addition to the original construction that lacks any means of ingress...that is, unless I want to remove facing boards and/or the celing itself. Anyway...I thought it was a squirrel. Nope--turns out it's not even a single raccoon, but I'm pretty sure a mama raccoon and one or more little ones (for the record, they sound a bit like birds.)

Fun, eh? Fortunately there's a "pest wildlife removal" service here in town, but they aren't cheap...which means I'll probably be vacationing close to home this year. They came by, set the trap, and now it's a waiting game.

For the record, I'm in favor of trees AND wildlife...but not trees that threaten the structural integrity of my house, or wildlife seeking sanctuary within the same.

In the meantime, here's hoping the scratching I hear above the back room ceiling goes away REAL SOON...and that the damage they're no doubt causing is minimal.

Your Tax Dollars At Work Promoting Creationism

The 2008 Gret Stet Legislature

You'd think they'd have more pressing issues than this nonsense.

Dr. McEvil and Mini-Lieb


Link.

And yes, it's a little old (the story's from yesterday), but it's been another busy one both here at work AND at home (long story, won't bore you with the details).

Brand Identity


As Republican Tom Davis said in an internal Republican memo, the GOP brand has the appeal of "expired dog food."

A Regular Man of Peace, That Shrub


There's something deeply disturbing and genuinely creepy about the Chimperor's "regrets" as chronicled by the Times Online.

Disturbing and creepy in the same way that expressions of remorse from obvious sociopaths who obviously don't mean it are creepy.

He said that he found it very painful "to put youngsters in harm’s way". He added: "I try to meet with as many of the families as I can. And I have an obligation to comfort and console as best as I possibly can. I also have an obligation to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain."

Well, if nothing else, we now know what it'd be like if Charles Manson ever expressed remorse.

*

Taking a Break...From Logic


Senator McCain must be on something stronger than whatever he was able to raid from Cindy's beer fridge...aside from the stepped-in-it big time of his "not too important" comment, take note of his insistence that "the surge is working," a wingnut spin point that's about as big-lie as it gets...but it certainly doesn't stop them from repeating it ad nauseum, hoping to define the narrative...and setting up Barack Obama as a scapegoat should he one, be elected, and two, follow through on his plan to end the nonsensical and nightmarish war in Mesopotamia.

No, the surge has NOT worked. Either that or the goals of the Bush administration--and the McCain continuance thereof--have become so pitifully small that they're willing to accept the situation right now as "normal."

Normal...in other words, 25 foot tall blast walls...forever.

What an accomplishment.

"Johnny, You Don't Know My Brother Fredo, Do You Johnny? Johnny Ola, Fredo."
[Fredo Looks Nervous]
Johnny Ola: "We Never Met." *


Later:
Fredo: Johnny Ola Jack Abramoff told me about this place. He brought me here. I didn't believe him, but seein' is believin', huh?

WWZE?


Who would Zweibel endorse?

The Whole Hog


Real friends of the people, your GOP:

Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.

Heaven forbid that anyone put the needs of American citizens above those of corporations.

Certain European leaders of the 1930s would be proud.

FEMA: Brownie Lost the Recipe...


...and we just don't realize how "complicated" ice can be, you know. Besides, the stuff melts, too.

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that WAS the reason FEMA's decided to go all Scrooge on us when it comes to frozen H2O. But this underscores a glaring self-fulfilling element to wingnut governance: when you don't give a shit, it shows...particularly when plain competence is essential.

On the flip side, wingnut pet programs continue to swallow up enormous revenues. And anyone who really thinks they'll "cut" government...well, has their head up their ass.

Cost of War


The online Pic has a two part series focusing on Travis Twiggs, one of the war's hidden casualties. It's really worth reading in its entirety.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Wholesale Mud Slinging

Max Boot and Friend

So, it was Boot's turn today to slither out from under whatever rock he calls home to pitch one from the standard wingnut playbook...

Aside from the fact that Boot, like his fellow wingnuts, seem awfully familiar with "the terrorists" (almost as if they were on the same team, y'know), this is actually just a side order...as the Rude Pundit pointed out, the main course will be good old-fashioned, home cooked appeals to...racism (also tried, true, and standard wingnut fare). We can expect quite a steady dose of it--the only question will be just how "normal" the media considers racism to be.

As I said earlier, we've got to remember that we're dealing with a faction that sees nothing wrong with using war--war, with all that war entails--to advance a political agenda. We're dealing with a faction that didn't hesitate for a second to play politics in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the flood. A faction that better hope there isn't a God of the standard Christian definition...because if there is, a rather unpleasant eternity awaits.

Slinging mud is just another day at the office for them...

Out of His League


Maybe the latest round of spew and saber rattle about Iran is to deflect and conceal to the extent they can the fact that good buddy Pakistan is once again cozying up to the Taliban.

You know, it's one thing to sell the dumbest of dumbed down prattle to the domestic audience...but it's quite something else to expect sovereign states with their own definition of 'national interest' to go along with juvenile analysis and hare-brained nonsense.

OF COURSE Pakistan, or elements therein, are helping the Taliban. For that matter, I'd expect Iran to assist, to the extent IT can, perceived 'friendly' factions within Iraq (by the way, it isn't the insurgency that Iran favors, but factions within the Iraqi 'government'.) Nations will relentlessly pursure their logical interests...

Unless you've got a leadership that's delusional, stupid, just plain evil, or a combination thereof.

Uh oh.

On Fantasy Versus Reality


Mr. "History--We don't know--We'll all be dead" has had an abrupt change of tune lately, insisting that he will eventually be vindicated, which gives you an idea of just how delusional this administration is.

Of course, an equally delusional media has done their level best to assist in maintaining this delusion...as have the wingnut howler monkeys. And it speaks volumes that they happily accept the Iraq debacle, the mortgage crisis, the Afghanistan debacle, the loss of influence and prestige worldwide, and so on...it's just "business as usual" for them.

Considering how demonstrably little they care for human suffering, I can only imagine the level of character assassination they're comfortable with when it comes to a political campaign.