Saturday's Snark Fest

From CNN.com

Al-Qaeda Claims Western Forces Broken In Iraq
The guy has a point that this is not going all that well, but he is praising the people who are currently also blowing fellow Iraqis and Muslims. I am not for the war, but spouting garbage like this from a secure hiding place is pretty low.

Iran Says UN Checks Can Resume If Case Is Dropped
Two things shocked me about this. One, a reasonable solution was offered. Two, everyone spoke like intelligent adults. Gotta love the weekend.

Bush Says The Star-Spangled Banner Should Be Sung Exclusively In English
Hey Bush - have you been to a school lately. If they sung it in another language at least there would be an excuse for them to screw it up!

And now...for the story of the week
Rush Limbaugh Arrested Again For Drugs
For me, this case basically shows what is wrong with the conservative right to begin with. First off, Rush Limbaugh is a man who needs serious help. Serious. Just because I do not agree with his politics a drug addiction is something I wish on no one, although it does help explain some of his views. However, the idea of him not facing the music, a man who preaches to America and is followed as an idol by some who can only absorb his regurgitated news is scary in that a man who is unstable has gotten back his microphone and pulpit. In short, as long as you preach what we want you can do what you want, even if that kills you.

OOOOOH! LADY MARMALADE IS A REPUBLICAN?

Damn for this to be true, on the verge of May, only seven months from the midterms. Seems that "Duke" Cunningham wasn't just passing around cigars and dollars. As reported by Think Progress and the WSJ approximately six members of Congress may have accepted sexual favors from prostitutes in return for their political favors.

Damn this gives an entirely different slant to the whole K-Street project. One would have thought it was confined to offices and cigar filled backrooms, not the corner of K-Street and then offices and cigar filled.... well never mind that.

Aren't you glad the "adults are in charge".

From The WSJ:

Prosecutors May Widen Congressional-Bribe Case
Cunningham Is Suspected Of Asking for Prostitutes; Were Others Involved?
By SCOT J. PALTROW
April 27, 2006; Page A6

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether two contractors implicated in the bribery of former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham supplied him with prostitutes and free use of a limousine and hotel suites, pursuing evidence that could broaden their long-running inquiry.

Besides scrutinizing the prostitution scheme for evidence that might implicate contractor Brent Wilkes, investigators are focusing on whether any other members of Congress, or their staffs, may also have used the same free services, though it isn't clear whether investigators have turned up anything to implicate others.

Think Progress has a transcript of Scarborough's interview with Dean Calbreath, of the San Diego Union Tribune, one name that should be familiar to political junkies appears here, good ol' sleaze Mitchell Wade, founder of the military contracting firm, MZM, Inc. For a background to Mitchell's involvement in DUKE-gate take a look at the San Diego Union-Tribune's article from June 22, 2005. Also The Washington Post, of March 24, 2006, reported the investigation of Duke's bribes and the Pentagon contracts obtained through the congressman's corruption.

CALBREATH: Well now, Mitchell Wade is cooperating with the investigators, but the guy who supposedly has the black book, Brent Wilkes he is hanging tough. He is so far not cooperating. I think that he is going to hang tough until he is indicted. So, I think it will be a while before other names come out. Like I say, the rumor mill is alive with names. The rumor mill is alive with at least half dozen names. Congressman Cunningham in today’s story in the Wall Street Journal that is really the first solid confirmation we have gotten of an eyewitness report.

With Rove having been invited back to see the Grand Jury and now Hooker-gate, get some popcorn and let's watch the fur fly!

The lovely Wonkette, shares her opinion on the subject and shares a few more links.

Quote Of The Day

"The ultimate court of appeal is observation and experiment... not authority."
Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895)
"Darwin's Bulldog" & Biologist

Links:
Wikipedia Link
The Huxley File
Biography at UC-Berkeley
Thomas Huxley at Amazon

Friday Snarky Shabbat Shalom!

From CNN.com
Bush and Democrats Disagree As To How To Solve The Energy Issue
Bush says he should get control and raise efficiency standards. Bush wants control of an environmental issue/way to lower oil prices. Do the words shoot me now mean anything to you?

The Iranian Question Comes To Head As Report Comes Down
This is really bothering me, since it seems that we are going down the Iraq road again and no one wants to learn anything! If anything, to divert us from the first mistake we are getting led to the same one a second time. How about Bush tries running THIS country rather than the Middle East. Oh wait! I forgot! He's the decider.

Sago Miner Survivor Speaks: Air Packs Failed
Do not read this if you are a weepy person. My eye make-up barely made it to the third paragraph. Sob

What's The Big Deal With This Plame Thing Any Way?

This is the big deal:

Eighty-three nameless stars adorn the north wall of CIA Headquarters, a silent testimony to those who gave their lives protecting the United States. They remain nameless to protect the contacts, field agents and "front companies" that survive them.

Brewster Jennings was one such company, until allegedly outed by proxy, and this is the really disturbing part, by the President of the United States. The agents working for Brewster were working on preventing "WMD" proliferation. Their mission was destroyed advancing a small cadre's political agenda.

Raw Story reported this on 2/13/06
The damages

Intelligence sources would not identify the specifics of Plame's work. They did, however, tell RAW STORY that her outing resulted in "severe" damage to her team and significantly hampered the CIA's ability to monitor nuclear proliferation.

Plame's team, they added, would have come in contact with A.Q. Khan's network in the course of her work on Iran.

Whether you dislike or disapprove of the CIA's methods is irrelevant. They have been from their inception the people willing to dirty their hands so that ours could remain clean. They work in the shadows so that we can bask in the light of day. You may call them a necessary evil or a pillar of our democracy, but whatever you may think of them: The agents at Brewster Jennings deserved better than being hung out to dry, by the ones, who were supposed to be guarding their identity.

Tell The Band To Start Tuning Up, We May Need Em To Play A FROGMARCH!!!

FROM RAW STORY:

FULL TRANSCRIPT FROM DAVID SHUSTER'S REPORT:

[TO SHUSTER PKG]

WHILE HIS SUPPORTERS CONTINUE TO PUT ON A GOOD FACE, SOURCES CLOSE TO KARL ROVE SAY THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR IS NOW MORE WORRIED, NOT LESS, THAT HE IS GOING TO GET INDICTED. THE SOURCES SAY ROVE WAS SURPRISED BY SOME OF THE QUESTIONS HE WAS ASKED AND BY THE FACT THE SESSION STRETCHED ON FOR THREE AND A HALF HOURS.

MINUTES AFTER ROVE LEFT THE GRAND JURY, HIS LEGAL TEAM ISSUED A WRITTEN STATEMENT SAYING PROSECUTORS HAD, QUOTE, "WANTED TO EXPLORE A MATTER RAISED SINCE MR. ROVE'S LAST APPEARANCE IN OCTOBER 2005."

BUT THE GRAND JURY, ACCORDING TO SOURCES, ALSO PRESSED ROVE ABOUT HIS TESTIMONY IN 2004 WHEN HE FAILED TO REVEAL HE SPOKE TO TIME MAGAZINE'S MATT COOPER ABOUT VALERIE PLAME -- THE FORMER CIA OPERATIVE AT THE HEART OF THE INVESTIGATION.

[Scott Fredericksen, former independent counsel] "Grand jurors asking about why he didn't recall his conversation in the original grand jury means they are focusing on the charge itself: Did he perjure himself? And they are not yet convinced of his explanations, that's why they are asking those questions."

LAST OCTOBER, JUST BEFORE VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY'S CHIEF OF STAFF SCOOTER LIBBY WAS INDICTED... ROVE STAVED OFF CHARGES WHEN HIS LAWYER TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE COULD PROVE ROVE'S EARLY MIS-STATEMENTS WERE NOT INTENTIONAL.

ROBERT LUSKIN SPOKE OF A CONVERSATION WITH TIME REPORTER VIVECA NOVAK AND A TIP ABOUT WHAT HER COLLEAGUE MATT COOPER MIGHT TESTIFY TO. LUSKIN AND ROVE THEN SEARCHED FOR WHITE HOUSE INFORMATION TO REFRESH ROVE'S MEMORY AND FOUND A WHITE HOUSE E-MAIL ABOUT THE ROVE-COOPER CONVERSATION. THEN, ACCORDING TO LUSKIN, ROVE CHANGED HIS TESTIMONY.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE TIME LAPSE FROM THE NOVAK TIP TO THE NEW ROVE TESTIMONY... WAS 7 MONTHS.

AND FROM THE DATE WHEN PROSECUTOR PATRICK FITZGERALD FIRST ORDERED MATT COOPER TO TESTIFY TO WHEN ROVE CHANGED HIS TESTIMONY WAS JUST DAYS.

Fredericksen: "Mr. Fitzgerald is a straight shooter, I have no doubt in my mind he has told them very clearly why he has Rove in there. It's because he wants to determine whether Mr. Rove was telling the truth when he first appeared before the grand jury."

BY ALL ACCOUNTS, VOLUNTEERING TO TESTIFY TO A GRAND JURY IS A RISKY PROPOSITION... LAWYERS SAY IT IS USUALLY DONE WHEN THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT MAY STOP AN INDICTMENT. AND THE SIGNS FOR ROVE HAVE BEEN OMINOUS FOR MONTHS. IN THE LIBBY INDICTMENT, ROVE WAS REFERRED TO AS "OFFICIAL A." THAT'S A DESIGNATION PROSECUTORS ARE REQUIRED TO GIVE WHEN THEY ARE REVEALING PERJORATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT A PERSON NOT YET CHARGED.

Fredericksen: "When your client is identified in that manner, it's a cause of great concern."

THAT'S BECAUSE PROSECUTORS ALMOST ALWAYS END UP INDICTING SOMEBODY IDENTIFIED AS OFFICIAL A. AND IN LOOKING THROUGH THE RECORD OF PATRICK FITZGERALD, HIS OFFICE HAS EVENTUALLY INDICTED OFFICIAL A IN EVERY CASE.

[Shuster standup]

STILL, GRAND JURY TESTIMONY CAN BE DIFFICULT TO JUDGE. THE SESSIONS, BY THEIR NATURE, ARE ADVERSARIAL. AND EVEN IF KARL ROVE FELT HIS APPEARANCE WAS "HELL," A ROVE LAWYER DISPUTES THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR HAS NEW REASONS TO BE FEARFUL. THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY, OF COURSE, BELONGS TO PROSECUTOR FITZGERALD... WHOSE GRAND JURY IS SCHEDULED TO MEET AGAIN TOMORROW. I'M DAVID SHUSTER, FOR HARDBALL, IN WASHINGTON.

DEVELOPING..........

Condi Knockin' Them Dead in The Balkans!

Damn Greece, Turkey, and now Bulgaria falls under the spell of the Mistress de Ferragamo!

Why Does The US Insist on Kicking Its Vets To The Curb.

My father a Vietnam vet watches the TV with disgust. "Why are they doing this to 'US' again?", he asks rhetorically and to no one in particular. He sees his younger "brothers " in arms marching off to a "Vietnam with sand" an un-winable war with no attainable peace. He sees them coming home to the same neglect that plagued his return to "The World."

This story from February seems to be the one that helped jar the rest of the American public to a state of wakefulness.

Hurt soldier billed for gear to be repaid
Lieutenant shelled out $650 to gain discharge after injury in Iraq
From Larry Shaughnessy, CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former Army soldier will be reimbursed after he was required to pay for his equipment when he was wounded in Iraq, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

First Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook was discharged for medical reasons last week after being injured in Iraq, and the Army said Wednesday he paid about $650 for 18 items that he was issued before going to Iraq.

"Whether procedures weren't followed or the system failed him is currently under investigation," said a written statement issued by a spokesman at Fort Hood in Texas. "What is clear is that this command is going to do the right thing by Lieutenant Rebrook, who is one of our nation's proud veterans."

Mother Jones blog (MoJo blog) highlights the newest in a series of disgraceful treatment of out nations bravest.

Wounded soldiers return home to another fight--bill collectors
Diane E. Dees 04/26/06

The Government Accountability Office is releasing a report tomorrow that hundreds of American soldiers wounded in Iraq have had their debts turned over to collection agencies.

ABC News tells the story of Army specialist Tyson Johnson, who had just been promoted when a a mortar round exploded outside his tent, wounding him in the left kidney and the head. The injuries forced him out of the Army, which then demanded he repay an enlistment bonus of $2,700 because he had served only two-thirds of his tour. Johnson was unable to return the money, his account was turned over to a collection agency, and he ended up living in his car because of his bad credit record.

As the nation's morals and sense of outrage awakens from a six year slumber, hopefully the ones responsible for extorting our vets will face the judgment their ethical crimes demand.

Quote Of The Day

"Sir, I wish to understand the true principles of the Government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."
William Henry Harrison (1773-1841)
9th President, Indiana Territorial Governor, Congressman, US Army General

Links:
Biography at WH.gov
Wikipedia Entry
Inaugural Address

Wednesday Snark Report

From CNN.com

Iran Says That Any Attacks By US Will Be Returned With "Double The Intensity"
With all the saber rattling going on here maybe the US should calm down and Iran should look at Chernobyl.

Another Explosion in Egypt Near Israeli Border : Suicide Bombers Blamed
Oh boy! Things are not very good!

Bush Takes Aim At Gas Prices
It's amazing what low approval ratings can do for the GOP!

Defiant Al-Qaeda Leader Mocks US
Oh boy - another one from the Saber rattling school of speech writing.

Is This Good News Or Bad News???

1000 Days Left of ShrubCo.

Welcome To Greece Condi!

Fortunately for Condi, they have a great Ferragamo shoe outlet nearby. Lets see if she can manage to screw up her European tour as badly as Shrub bungled the Chinese President's visit.

Rice Gets No Backing From Greece on Iran
Whoops too late....

Related Stories:
Rice Wants Turkey to Challenge Anti-U.S. Views, Support Iraw (Bloomberg)
Greek Youths Protest Against Rice Visit (NYT)
Violent Protests Greet Rice in Greece.(The Age)

Tuesday Snark Report - The It's My Birthday Edition

From CNN.com

Longtime Immigrants Should Be Allowed To Stay - Recent Arrivals Should Be Deported
77% of Americans feel long time illegals should be given amnesty. Quick question, who is deciding how long is longtime? Is it twenty years, ten, five? Pick a number?? This is just a little strange.

Iran's Chief Negotiator Says His Country May Stop Cooperating With UN IF Sanctions Are Applied
Okay, if any of these guys look around they will see they are in a handbasket with a Southern destination. Please! NO MORE!

Terrorist Attack In Egypt May Have Not Been Caused By Suicide Bombers
Okay, pretty dismal and I cringe over that child who was killed, but on the up side the article describes a level of cooperation between the Egyptians and Israelis that I have not heard in a long time.

Bush Orders Probe Into High Price of Gasoline
I would like to be kind and say that this has NOTHING to do with the recent rock bottom popularity polls for Dubya as well as the Republican Congress worrying about re-election. However, I can't.

Quote Of The Day

"As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it."

Martin Van Buren (1782-1862)
8th President, Diplomat, Senator & Governor of NY

Links
Biography at WH.gov
Entry at Wikipedia

Monday Snark Report

From CNN.com

Iran Says Nuclear Program Is For Civilian Use And Is Irreversible
I really think this whole thing could be resolved a lot more quickly if all involved were actually TALKING instead of rattling sabers at one another. Really, IF Iran is pursuing a clean source of energy and trying to bring its people into the modern era isn't this what we want for the Middle East? Yeesh!

Phone Call Tape Indicts Saddam In Attacks On Shiite Civilians
Once again, should I have been seated for this? Even those of us who do not think we belong in Iraq are not exactly going to start a choir singing Hussein's praised.

Chernobyl Effects Felt 20 Years Later
Very sad, sad story. Many are dying of cancer now, and the effects will still keep mounting. Perhaps Iran should take a look at this before they pursue a nuclear program.

Ex-CIA Official: Bush Administration Ignored Intelligence That Indicated Iraq Did Not Have WMD
Oh no! Don't tell me "The Decider" ignored really important evidence in making decision which effected, as wekk as ended, thousands of lives. No....say it ain't so!

The Savage Nation Of A-Holes

Let's get this out of the way first, I feel that Michael Savage mat be one of the more pitiful human beings on he face of the Earth. By this point he garners more sympathy for his obvious mental condition than derision. While scouring Media Matters for a Sunday article, a rare occurrence to be sure but this one caught my eye. (Transcript and audio available here)

I think it was that for part of the transcript I actually was on the verge of agreeing with the man. This inspired a "Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster" moment for me... ah but it was not to last.

The call had to do with Fulan Gong protestor during President Hu's visit this week. One of the accusations this group makes against China is that the government is harvesting prisoners organs. The caller felt this was "a bunch of malarky."

While no one knows for sure whether this practice is performed or not, the Bodies exhibit at the Fulton market is reasonable clue. I do however believe that any government that will crush its own people with tanks when all the people ask for is simple basic freedoms is capable of anything. That in essence was Savages argument until he euphemistcally or literally went off his meds.

SAVAGE: All right, take a walk, you sad sack, you. You're a shame to the Jewish people. Let's see, what else do you want to talk about, here? Look what I have to put up with for a living, here. He gets his information from National Public Radio, and by the way, and they, of course, are on the side of the harvesting of organs in China. What does that tell you about communists, socialists, and the American left? They're all -- they're all in cahoots with each other.

Michael "Savage" Weiner = Nutcase

Jeez, What Would Have Happened If He Was Singing "Whiter Shade Of Pale"??

I try to keep an eye out for strange stories, somehow I missed this humdinger. It seems that over on Airstrip One, the police and defense forces have new targets in "De War On Terrah!" Besides shooting people for going to work, that is.

From Reuters
Man held as terrorism suspect over punk song
Wed Apr 5, 2006 9:58am ET168

LONDON (Reuters) - British anti-terrorism detectives escorted a man from a plane after a taxi driver had earlier become suspicious when he started singing along to a track by punk band The Clash, police said Wednesday.

Detectives halted the London-bound flight at Durham Tees Valley Airport in northern England and Harraj Mann, 24, was taken off.

The taxi driver had become worried on the way to the airport because Mann had been singing along to The Clash's 1979 anthem "London Calling," which features the lyrics "Now war is declared -- and battle come down" while other lines warn of a "meltdown expected."

Mann told British newspapers the taxi had been fitted with a music system which allowed him to plug in his MP3 player and he had been playing The Clash, Procol Harum, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to the driver.

"He didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash but I don't think there was any need to tell the police," Mann told the Daily Mirror.

ANTONINO D'AMBROSIO in his April 20th posting at The Nation On-Line has a great Op-Ed on this idiocy. (Full Article Here)

"London Calling" is a song about terrorism, but not the kind we have become so familiar with after 9/11. Written in 1979 by the late Joe Strummer, it describes the looming threat of nuclear catastrophe, environmental disaster, starvation and war. The threat or terror of nuclear destruction was something that deeply concerned Strummer because it seemed to him that some world leaders treated it as nothing more than a game. "You had Ronald Reagan campaigning on building up nuclear arms.... He said the West is losing the arms race to Russia, the 'evil empire'.... It was like toys to them or a movie where nothing bad would really happen," Strummer told me when I interviewed him in 2002. Sound familiar?

What Television Is Supposed To Do.

At its worst television is no better than, as Harlan Ellison called it, a "glass teat". It allows us to suckle on it and drift off into zero brain cells effected or used sleep. Now I do have my own personal suckles, the new Battlestar Galactica and My Name Is Earl. I can't help it! One constantly questions the state and beliefs of the human race, the other just makes me laugh.

When TV is at its best it is WorldLink TV. It is quite simply the most informative and educational stops on the dial. Whether its is Linda Goodman's "Democracy Now", Mosaic: News From The Middle East, or Deutsche Welle: Journal, you are guaranteed a broad perspective on national and world events. Their documentaries are some of the best I have seen. Take for example the one from the other night, World Weddings: Gypsy Child Brides. The show just blew me away. Take a look a t the synopsis:

Gypsy Child Brides - Fourteen-year-old Regina has just married according to the custom of traditional Roma, the nomadic culture commonly referred to as Gypsies. She was sold by her father for $3,000. The film reveals some of the ancient customs of Romania's Roma clans, which are coming under increasing fire from the European Union. Having endured over 1,000 years of persecution since their origin in India, the Roma are not easily giving up their traditions. To them, the latest round of criticism is little different than the prejudice they have suffered for a millennia.

Encapsulated in this thirty minute BBC documentary is a microcosm of tradition vs modernity. I found myself conflicted between the right of this culture to practice its traditions and being repulsed by, what I still feel is, a tradition that should simply not exist in the modern world.

These young girls, one as young as 12, are bartered and sold into a life no better than slavery. Their virginity stands as coin of the realm, and when lost on the marriage night, the bloody sheet is literally paraded for all to see.

This show will air three times this coming week:

Broadcast Times

Sunday, April 23	7:00 PM
Monday, April 24	1:00 AM
Monday, April 24	8:30 AM

The times above are EST so grab your TiVO remote, you are going to watch this more than once.

Saturday Snark-o-rama

From CNN.com

Rain and Police Douse Nepal Protests
They are continuing to protest even though the king has agreed to their demands and will hand over control to the people. I am all for protesting wrongs, but if you look at the story if the people want control then show some.

Bomb in Afganistan Kills Canadian Soldiers
Senseless. My sympathies and the sympathies of the staff here at LHC goes out to the familes.

CIA Fires Agent Over Media Leak
And the nomination for biggest scapegoat is.....

Silent Hill: A review

Silent Hill
A review by Mike Amari

I won’t bore those of you who haven’t played the games with a brief history. Go here instead.

The good news for those of us who have played the games, I’ll get this out of the way.
This is everything you could have ever hoped for in a Silent Hill movie. And so much more. Every moment, every camera angle, every little detail all point to one thing, that this film is purely and truly part of the Silent Hill Mythos.

But is it a good horror movie you may ask o’ faithful reader. And to that I answer oh dear lord yes.

This is the way horror is supposed to be. Uncomfortable angles, unflinching situations and unbelievable visual effects all remind us of the promise that the horror genre once hinted toward and has resolutely forgotten. Blood is not just tossed at the audience, body parts are not severed without an immense sense of gravity. Recent movies like Hostel throw scene after scene of gore at the viewer without much effect because it’s all handled matter of fact, gore for gore’s sake and causes us to forget why it should bother us. It is not matter of fact, it is not normal, it is a phenomenally awful thing and all of that shock and amazement is in full force in Silent Hill. One scene in particular with Pyramid Head (that’s right fellow fan boys, Pyramid Head) will catch you completely off guard, which is what horror should do.

Most importantly though is that we finally have a true horror movie with a highly intelligent, multi-faceted story running throughout the movie. Silent Hill the games have a convoluted and rich mythology. The screenplay hits all of the important bits in a most lucid and organic manner without ever leaving you in the dark. Even fans of the games will be led off track with a few twists, but ultimately winds up in the same place where the games leave you. My love of this film was cemented when, after the final scene, the frosted haired, muscle bound mook two rows ahead of me said ‘I’m confused”

Which leads to the biggest hurdle this movie faces: it is not a mainstream horror movie. This is horror as it is meant to be: uncomfortable and challenging and all together engrossing (see also last years criminally under rated Stay)

See it early, see it often.

Till next time, keep it cool boppers.

Eternal hope springs within a damned town

Welcome back blogger babies, your freaky friend doubtful reason here once again with a snakey sneaky look at the newest disturbing & distraughtfull horror hack on the block, Silent Hill.

Let's dispense with the crypt keeper motif for the time being (god i miss him!)to say that it has been a long, long time since I've been this excited to see a movie.

Last time i was this giddy was the lead up to 'The fellowship Of The Ring' and to a lesser extent for 'King Kong' as well.

The double whammy of the deplorable state of so called 'Horror' movies recently (*cough* hostel *cough) and even sadder state of video game adaptations (www.uweboll.com) makes Silent Hill A possible Double Delight of Delicious Devilry if director Christopher Gans can make good on all his promises.

Visit the websight here
Read the Director Blog here
And learn about the game series here

check back here this weekend for a full review. Untill then, keep it cool boppers.

Republican Family Values.... The Horror The Horror....

Strange, and disturbing, quotes from Republicans and Bible thumpers concerning the violation of woman and children are infamous. Most of us remember the quote but often don't remember which freak said it. So here is a short history of really bizarre quotations:

No list would be complete without a nod to Clayton Williams, oil millionaire and former Texas gubernatorial candidate:

Williams joked to reporters that rape was like weather, saying,
"as long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.''
Williams lost to Democrat Ann Richards.

(Bloomberg.com, June 30 2005)

Lest we forget Reverend Dobson's letter to his flock of zombie sheep in June of 2002. He quotes Dr. Joseph Nicolosi on how to prevent something they call "pre-homosexuality":

Meanwhile, the boy's father has to do his part. He needs to mirror and affirm his son's maleness. He can play rough-and-tumble games with his son, in ways that are decidedly different from the games he would play with a little girl. He can help his son learn to throw and catch a ball. He can teach him to pound a square wooden peg into a square hole in a pegboard. He can even take his son with him into the shower, where the boy cannot help but notice that Dad has a penis, just like his, only bigger.

(FOF, Dr. Dobson's Newsletter, June 2002)

Or this sparkling choice by Shrub for the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs (FDA), Dr. W. David Hager. The wingnut who claimed:

"God has called me to stand in the gap. Not only for others, but regarding ethical and moral issues in our country."

Well his ex- wife relates this winner of a story of the reasons there marriage ended:

Sex was always a source of conflict in the marriage. Though it wasn't emotionally satisfying for her, Davis says she soon learned that sex could "buy" peace with Hager after a long day of arguing, or insure his forgiveness after she spent too much money. "Sex was coinage; it was a commodity," she said. Sometimes Hager would blithely shift from vaginal to anal sex. Davis protested. "He would say, 'Oh, I didn't mean to have anal sex with you; I can't feel the difference,'" Davis recalls incredulously. "And I would say, 'Well then, you're in the wrong business.'"

(The Nation, May 30th, 2005)

Now one of my personal favs! from right wing nut-job Neal Horsely when he appeared on the Alan Colmes Show:

Colmes: "You had sex with animals?"
Horsely: "Absolutely. I was a fool. When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule."

(Audio available at C'n'Liars)

OKAY!!!! Now for some new ones from the State of South Dakota. These two geniuses are from the South Dakota legislature. These are in reference to S. Dakota's anti- choice bill:

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Napoli says most abortions are performed for what he calls "convenience." He insists that exceptions can be made for rape or incest under the provision that protects the mother's life. I asked him for a scenario in which an exception may be invoked.

BILL NAPOLI: A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child would very well threaten her life.

(PBS News Hour March 3, 2006, Video Available)

Well... That was overly descriptive. If that didn't make you scream Holy Shit! Check out numb nuts #2, S.D. State Rep Joel Dykstra (R)

"I think ‘rape and incest is a buzzword,"” said Rep. Joel Dykstra about not including those conditions in the abortion bill. It'’s a bit of a throwaway line and not everybody who says that really understands what that means. How are you going to define that?"

(The Two Rivers Times via Clean Cut Kid, April 20,2006)

Yep dems sum good ol' fashion family values!

Quote Of The Day

"Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will."
James Monroe (1758-1831)
5th President (1817-1825), Lawyer, Senator, & Veteran

Links:
Biography at WH.gov
Info & Resources at the Internet Public Library
The Monroe Estate "Ash-Highland"
James Monroe.org
Wikipedia Entry

A Snarky Shabbat!

From CNN.com

AIDS Activists Rally After Death Of HIV Infected 15 Year-Old At The Hands Of His Uncle
Very sad story.

Two Atlanta Muslims Facing Charges
This is a little weird. They are not being arrested for being terrorists or perpetrating terrorist attacks. However, they are being charged with giving "Material Support" to Terrorism. The definition of what that means is pretty vague - this should be interesting to watch.

Adult Eating Disorders On Rise
Binging and Purging - its not just for prom-jittery teen girls anymore.

Okay, I have to rant a bit here today. Yes, I believe in letting your child be themselves, but there is a video at CNN (I am having a hard time linking to the video, but it is on the front page) which details the websites that are PROMOTING eating disorders. They call themselves Pro-Ana (Pro anorexia) and Pro-Mia (Pro Bulimia) and are basically a support network for teen girls who have an eating disorder, or most alarmingly a training area for girls giving instructions on how to have the disorder. Here is my question - your emaciated teenage daughter is spending hours in front of the computer and you are okay with this? I am not saying parents should be big brother, but dammit you do not have to be your kid's buddy either. Get proactive.

WORST PRESIDENT EVAH!!!

Nuff' said

Happy Birthday Woody's Geeetar!

From All Of Us Here At LHC

Goodbye Scottie We'll Miss Kicking You Around.

Well Sidney Blumenthal, I feel, puts McClellan's resignation into real perspective

From the Guardian UK:

The resignation of the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, is an event of almost complete insignificance except insofar as the beleaguered White House presents it as an important change. Meanwhile, the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, under siege from dissenting ex-generals demanding his firing for arrogant incompetence, stays.

McClellan is a flea on the windshield of history. On the podium, he performed his duty as a slow-flying object swatted by a frustrated and flustered press corps. Inexpressive, occasionally inarticulate and displaying a limited vocabulary, his virtue was his unwavering discipline in sticking to his uninformative talking points, fending off pesky reporters, and defending the president and all the president's men to the last full measure of his devotion. Inside the Bush White House, he was a non-player, a factotum, the instrument of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist and deputy chief of staff. McClellan played no part in the inner councils of state. He was the blank wall erected in front of the press to obstruct them from seeing what was on the other side. McClellan's stoic façade was unmatched by a stoic interior. He was a vessel for his masters, did whatever he was told, put out disinformation without objection, and was willing to defend any travesty. He is the ultimate dispensable man.

Well dammit Sidney have a littlecompassionn for the the little prick will ya. A flea! Adispensablee man! Well I just won't stand for that!

Scottie was the ultimate punching bag. He flustered easily and always had the disconcerting look about him, like he had thrown up five minutes before taking the podium.

So as a coda for our "SIMPLE SCOTTIE" I scoured the net looking for a place that was willing to show the little douche-bag some love:

THE WE LOVE SCOTT McCLELLAN WEBSITE!

Thursday Snark Report

From CNN.com

Round-Up Of Bosses and Workers in Illegal Immigration Raid
Sooo....the Department of Homeland Security is now taking parts in textile plant raids? THIS is how they protect the country - let's stop the Mexican lady from making a blouse? Maybe, just maybe, they should have taken the tact of investigating the working conditions in these plants, but that would show a level of compassion and responsibility that our government seems to have forgotten about.

Police In Nepal Kill Three Protestors
Well, that's one way to stop civilian unrest in a country - kill all the civilians?? Oookkaayyy...

Branch Davidians Getting Out of Prison
Oh wonderful! We just needed more crazies out there!

Duke University Suspends Athletes Accused of Rape
I really hope they didn't think they could continue to attend classes during this.

Quote Of The Day

"Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
President, Diplomat, Lawyer, & Congressman

Links
Biography at WH.gov
Wikipedia Entry
Inaugural Address at The Avalon Project

LHC EXCLUSIVE!!: Cover Of Scott McClellan's Autobiography

Through a secret arrangement, with sources within Degenerate Press, we proudly present the cover of Simple Scotty's Autobiography.

Our source also relates that the other prospective titles were:

C*ck Punched!
Spit Or Swallow, A Life With No Choices.
Being The White House's Bitch

MSNBC BREAKING STORY: Huge blast rocks Kabul, near U.S. embassy.

Is This A Corner Stone Of The Spring Offensive We Were Warned About?

With all eyes on Iraq and Iran, it seems the simmering pot that is Afghanistan is boiling over.

Details are sketchy but the blast was near the US Embassy zone and emergency vehicles have been heard moving in the direction of the "white plume" of smoke.

Threatend Tali-Qaida"Spring Offensive":
AFGHA.com (04/18/06)
Pakistan Dawn (4/16/06)
U.K. Independent (3/30/06)
Radio Free Europe (3/29/06)
Al-Jazeera (3/16/06)
FoxNews (3/16/06)

These Folks Make The Flying Spaghetti Monster Look Better All The Time!

Red State Rabble, brought this article to my attention. Apparently the lunacy of the young earthers know no bounds. In a nod to Dinotopia or the freakin Flintstones, they are now claiming that the PYRAMIDS, yes the FREAKIN' PYRAMIDS were built with the help of the dinosaurs. The really twisted part is they are teaching this nonsense to children. Crust on a Cracker this is like using the Three Little Pigs as a DIY manual, or Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater as a marriage guide!

Here's a sample

"There is evidence that dinosaurs used to help man build the pyramids and the other wonders of the earth, including Noah's ark. Forget the idea that the Jews built the pyramids. Egyptians restored them with talented slaves, Jews. In the book of Job, the dinosaur is described as a hippopotamus with a tail resembling a cedar tree," (Rev)Fenech says.

Well that about sews it up eh? Wouldn't want Egyptians or heavens forbid Jews getting any credit here, right Rev.? Not only is this whole concept devoid of evidence and bigoted it is just plain asinine.

Click to head over to Red State for his take on this by clicking here.
For the Malta article click here.

Wednesday Snark Report

From CNN.com

Bush Adamantly Defends Decision To Keep Rumsfeld - Calls Himself the "Decider"
That's our president - ignore common sense and basic English vocabulary in the same sentence. Can this man multi-task or what??

Hu Jintao, China's Leader, Begins Visit to the US - Tries To Allay US Fears Over Trade Deficit With China
Hey! Why did he meet with Bill Gates first? Doesn't he know that Bush is the decider?

Passengers Rescued From NYC Roosevelt Island Tram
Last night on the local news they were communicating with some of the people stranded via cellphone, who were just starting to receive supplies at 10:00 PM after being stranded since 5:00 PM. Just want to say I have a lot of respect for the victims, since many of us would have been screaming and getting whacky. They kept it cool - even with two babies on board.

Third Suspect May Be Indicted In Duke University Rape
Just a note to the defense attorney - ATM receipts mean NOTHING if your client's DNA is shown. This was a long term attack, meaning he could have gone to the ATM machine and had gone back.

From BBC.com

Evidence That Saddam Did Sign Death Warrants
Ummm...should I have been sitting for this?

Nigeria's Leader Offers A Boost to The Delta
Here's hoping Obasanjo is a man of his word, or else this is just going to get worse. The only thing worse for a country's stability than militants are militants with no jobs, futures or prospects.

Mexico Slams Georgia's Migrant Worker Law
Thank you Georgia for helping the situation (Insert eye-roll here). I have to wonder why the Mexicans are the ones getting targeted - you know the LARGEST group of illegal immigrants in the US. It's a tie - Canadians and Irish. Yup! You got that right, the Mexicans are not the biggest problem if you consider illegal immigration a huge problem. However, I guess they are too brown for some people.

Quote Of The Day

"Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war."
John Adams
(1735-1836)
President, Statesman, Founding Father & Diplomat

Links
Biography at WhiteHouse.gov
Selections from the Adams Papers
More papers from Yale University
Wikipedia Entry

Funny Net Stuff

The New GOP LOGO!

Found At
ALL HAT NO CATTLE
(Click)

Colonel Kurtz Gives Us The Real Reason (Until Further Notice) Why We Are In Iraq.

I try to avoid the National Review whenever possible, however Think Progress' post on this made it too tempting too resist. Stanley "Ze Colonel" Kurtz, debates Jonah "Doughy" Goldberg on Iraq and Iran. In the process Ze Colonel adds a new excuse... I mean ultimate reason we invaded and currently occupy Iraq.

Colonel Kurtz:
My point is that the quick democratization standard was mistaken. We created a false standard for success, and that is our problem. Once we focus on the big picture, and off of the false standard of quick democratization, the public will see Iraq in a new way. It will take a debate about Iran to make that change, and it won't be easy, but that is what's needed. We need to see peace and democracy in Iraq is icing on the cake. The real goal is the proof of resolve against Iran and others. If the public sees that, it might change its view of what's important and what success means.

Iran and North Korea were working on bombs well before Iraq. Iraq didn't make them get nukes. Our problem is that technological advance has intervened to make the nuclear option widely available. That was happening independently. It's just that 9/11 woke us up to the real implications.

This would be fine and I would salute Ze Colonel on this IF intimidating Iran was not one of a growing litany of substitute reasons for invading. Sorry Colonel renaming a rabid Doberman, Fluffy, does not make it any more likely that people will pet it.

Goldberg's response to Kurtz is actually a fair bit of logic. Ultimately, however, he cannot bring himself to admit that while the invasion succeed on an operational level, the occupation is a failure and for all intents and purposes unsalvagable.

"Doughy" Goldberg:
I supported the war and I still support our efforts there. But the deterrence dividend was tapped out with Qaddafy and we ain't seeing any more returns for a while. As Rich and others have noted, Iran's effrontery and the crackdowns in Syria are a very good barometer of how Iraq is no longer having a deterrent effect. You can say Bush is focusing too much on Iraq and not enough on the big picture. But until Iraq is perceived as a success not merely here at home, but abroad, the big picture will just get uglier and uglier.

That's really the point isn't it Jonah. The public has finally realized what those not swayed by the pre-war bullshit knew from the start. This invasion was a mistake form the onset. The occupation was planned to be on the cheap, and the logistics setup for corporate profit. It is not the public's perception that must be changed. You, Kurtz, and you cadre must realized that you were duped, the neo-con's plans for the new American Century were failures before the ink even dried.

Fishing for new ways to defend Shrub's failures isn't loyalty to a failed idea it is just damn sad.

Tuesday Snark Report

From CNN.com

New White House Budget Director to Be Named Today
Here's hoping he attended the "Large Debt Is Bad For Nation" lecture when he was getting his degree. Seems the last guy missed it.

Meeting on Iran to Be Held In Moscow
Could somebody PLEASE get the leader of Iran a subscription to a news service besides Al-Jazeera, if he's even watching that? Better yet, ask him if the terms "Circling the Wagon Trains" or "Vultures Hovering" mean anything to him? As said below, I am not automatically suspicious and believe that he could be telling the truth - but is it necessary to hold up the middle finger while doing so?

IAEA Inspectors Due In To Iran
Okay, just me giving my two cents here, but isn't it possible that they are enriching uranium for civilian purposes? I mean, they have been announcing piece by piece what they are doing and giving reasons for it - unlike North Korea who is foaming at the mouth and yet is not getting helf the press coverage.

Two Duke Lacrosse Players Charged With Raping A Dancer Hired For A Party
Two college idiots thinking who the heck they are and brutalizing a stripper? Oh, can't happen (insert sarcastic eye roll here). Wonder how many girls they did this to on campus who were too scared to open their mouths or if they did the school squashed it.

Blogger Charged With First Degree Murder - Now On Suicide Watch
More on the cannabalistic blog idiot. NOW he thinks about killing himself? Why didn't he think of that before he killed the ten year old and tried to eat her? I am not getting my O'Reilly on here and I am not advocating suicide, but come on! Think about!

From BBC.com

Israel Blames Hamas For Recent Bombing But Says It Will Not Retaliate
Okay, let me see if I have this straight. Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility. Hamas says it was Islamic Jihad but Israel is blaming Hamas. Oh yes, peace is coming at light speed. Sigh. Too bad they do not look at why they could not stop the bombers, with all of their security, or are they looking for a fight??

Tel Aviv Bombing Dismays Papers : Fingers Point Everywhere and At Everyone
You see - Zeev in Israel Agrees With Me!

VietNam's Ruling Communist Party To Tackle Corruption
Good luck on that one, and that is not said sarcastically.

Quote Of The Day

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)
Activist

Links
The Susan B. Anthony House
Primary Docs From Susan B. Anthony Trial
PBS Special: Not For Ourselves Alone
Wikipedia Entry

Worthy Cause - Cape Wind

Very interesting article about how politicians are trying to kill a clean source of energy since they do not want their scenery ruined (I guess three-headed fish are comsidered good scenery??) Please read and use Greenpeace's interface that automatically routes your e-mail to your senator!

Link to Cape Wind Article

WOW! This Sets New Standards For Stupid!

Sweet Flying Spaghetti Monster! My friend "Wooden One-Eye" passed this link on to me. Seems a seventeen year old Wyoming youth burnt himself up while trying to siphon (steal) gas from a fire fighter's car.

The above description does not do justice to the blithering stupidity that led to the young man becoming a human match. The ultimate irony of this story, is the name of the service station where the Petroleum Kid and Match Boy performed their stupid human trick...

ready...

are you ready...

the service station's name is......

Wait for it!.....

(drum role)

"Common Cents"!

Read the story here, from MSNBC

I Thought They Were Just Morally Bankrupt.....

Oh how the mighty have fallen, and it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of self-righteous theocratic twerps.

Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows
By Alan Cooperman and Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 10, 2006; A01

In an era when conservative Christians enjoy access and influence throughout the federal government, the organization that fueled their rise has fallen on hard times.

The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors' lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters....

At its peak a decade ago, the Christian Coalition deployed a dozen lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Today, it has a single Washington employee who works out of his home. Its phone number with a 202 area code is automatically forwarded to a small office in Charleston, S.C.....

The coalition's decline is a story that can perhaps best be told along biblical lines: It is the narrative of a group that wandered after the departure of its early leaders, lost faith in some of its guiding principles and struggled to keep its identity after entering the promised land -- in this case, the land of political influence.

From its inception, the coalition was built around two individuals, Robertson and Ralph Reed. Both were big personalities with big followings.

"After the founders left, the Christian Coalition never fully recovered," said James L. Guth, an expert on politics and religion at Furman University in South Carolina. "The dependence on Robertson and Reed was really disastrous."

Reed left in 1997 to become a Republican political consultant and is now seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Georgia. Once a golden boy of GOP politics, he has recently had his reputation tarnished by his ties to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Robertson resigned as the Christian Coalition's president in 2001 after defending China's one-child policy in a CNN interview that fellow conservatives viewed with horror. It was among the most damaging in a series of remarks that have hurt Robertson's standing among evangelical Christians -- and may have hurt the Christian Coalition as well.

While the Christian Coalition seems to be in a death spiral, we also know that, Dobson led, Focus on the Family the successor organization. With their recent implication in the STILL growing Abramoff scandals, it remains to be seen if FOF and its lobby biscuit Ralph Reed will walk away scott free. If any one has followed Reed's career of screw ups, total exoneration seems unlikely.

The tentacles of Jack Abramoff have wound their way through out much of the Republican Party, including Conrad Burn's (R-MT) troubled re-election bid for the US Senate and indicted former Republican House Majority Leader, Tom Delay and his cadre of disciples. These include DeLay's replacement John Boehner (R-OH) and a LHC Right Wing Jerk of the Month & one of CREW's 13 Most Ethically Challenged Members of Congress , Roy Blunt (R-MO). Lest we forget to mention how Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum helped fertilize the field, for this kind of wanton corruption to flourish on K Street.

Quote Of The Day

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

James Madison (1751-1836)
Founding Father, Father of the Constitution, 4th President (1809-1817), Delegate to Continetal Congress, Member of the 1st Congress

Link
The Federalist Papers at The LOC
The Anti-Federalist Papers (Linked to, for context)
Biography at White House.gov
The Madsion Papers at University of Virginia
The Madison Estate Montpelier

And So It Goes.

Read Current Fatality Announcements. (Click Here)

At The Time of This Posting:
US Military Deaths in Iraq: 2373
Since "Mission Accomplished: 2236
Official US Military Wounded: 17269 (Est 18,000- 48,100)
Total Coalition Casualties Afghanistan: 355
US Military Deaths Afghanistan: 284
Iraqi Civilian Body Count: 34446- 38594

Ways You Can Help The Survivors:
Share The Sacrifice (also helps Vietnam Vets- Thanks Samurai Sam)
Operation Truth
Fisher House (Vets of All Wars)
Wounded Warrior Project
Any Soldier
The USO
United Spinal Association (aka Eastern Paralyzed Veterans)

Casualty Lists and numbers from: The US DOD via Antiwar.com, Iraq Body Count, & ICasualities.org

Monday Snark Report

From CNN.com

Iran Pledges $50 Million Dollars To Palestinian Authority
Well now if their line in the sand doesn't blur the Western World's line in the sand I don't know what does.

At Least Six Dead From Sucide Bomb Attack In Tel Aviv
Just a little note - even though it was not Hamas but Islamic Jihad that claimed responsibility for the attack it seems most major news outlets are putting this article immediately before or after the one above. Paranoid much?

Suspect Blogged About Cannibalism
Here is where places like MySpace really need to monitor their members a bit. This man was blogging about cannibalism, discussing the effects of not taking his psych meds, and basically mentioned that his fantasies would get him into serious trouble. Oddly enough, he has all his correct contact info at the blog site - he could have been stopped and caught. Is this cyberspace or the Wild West.

Aruba Official: Arrest Made In the Case Of Holloway Murder
Says no info has been given as to who was arrested and that the media and natives have no idea who. Boy, I am just brimming with confidence on this one!

Holes In The Electronic Border

Guess the have never heard of AVG-Anti Virus at Homeland Security.

From Wired News via Slashdot:
By Kevin Poulsen
02:00 AM Apr, 12, 2006

A computer failure that hobbled border-screening systems at airports across the country last August occurred after Homeland Security officials deliberately held back a security patch that would have protected the sensitive computers from a virus then sweeping the internet, according to documents obtained by Wired News.

The documents raise new questions about the $400 million US-VISIT program, a 2-year-old system aimed at securing the border from terrorists by gathering biometric information from visiting foreign nationals and comparing it against government watch lists.

The Aug. 18 computer failure led to long lines at international airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and elsewhere, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, officials processed foreign visitors by hand, or in some cases used backup computers, according to contemporaneous press reports.

Publicly, officials initially attributed the failure to a virus, but later reversed themselves and claimed the incident was a routine system failure.

But two CBP reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the virulent Zotob internet worm infiltrated agency computers the day of the outage, prompting a hurried effort to patch hundreds of Windows-based US-VISIT workstations installed at nearly 300 airports, seaports and land border crossings around the country.

(Click For Full Article)

My boys are at it again!!

I forgot how much I love South Park. Every time I can get a chance, and that is quite hard with a 3 and a 2 year old, I try to watch the show. I developed a strange tingly feeling last night and lo and behold, I forgot to watch it.

Damn, according to this, I missed a lot.

And to all those who hate the show, at least the Peabody Organization thinks it deserved its award!!