Butcher's Bill

2,023.

93 American soldiers dead in October.

Thanks, George.

A Laugh to Start the Week

One doesn't find too many laughs on a Monday, so you have to take what comes your way and enjoy it. Take, for instance, this little gem:

A pastor in Waco, Texas was up to his hips in water as he prepared to do a baptism in front of about 800 people. Since he wanted to be heard, he reached for a microphone.

Water.

Electronic equipment.

Hilarity ensues.

He's dead, and supposedly with Jesus now (who no doubt will call him a dunderhead), so there is a happy ending.

Time to Dance

The following quote is from Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) regarding the nomination of Judge Alito by Dear Leader:

"The nomination of Judge Alito requires an especially long hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers. Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them. Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people.
"I am disappointed in this choice for several reasons. First, unlike previous nominations, this one was not the product of consultation with Senate Democrats. Last Friday, Senator Leahy and I wrote to President Bush urging him to work with us to find a consensus nominee. The President has rejected that approach.
"Second, this appointment ignores the value of diverse backgrounds and perspectives on the Supreme Court. The President has chosen a man to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, one of only two women on the Court. For the third time, he has declined to make history by nominating the first Hispanic to the Court. And he has chosen yet another federal appellate judge to join a court that already has eight justices with that narrow background. President Bush would leave the Supreme Court looking less like America and more like an old boys club. "Justice O'Connor has been the deciding vote in key cases protecting individual rights and freedoms on a narrowly divided Court. The stakes in selecting her replacement are high.
"I look forward to meeting Judge Alito and learning why those who want to pack the Court with judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about him than they were about Harriet Miers."

Well, maybe so. I would say that Bush might be trying to raise the Court to the status of a third-rate bowling team. This stinks, folks.

The Democrats would be stupid - totally, completely and unutterably stupid - if they let this pass. All the shit spewed by the False Republicans and the Christian Fascists about an 'up or down vote' should be countered by the simple question, "Well, why didn't you let Harriet Miers get an up or down vote?"

Following the bad time for the White House last week will be a chore. It requires stout hearts and strong spines.

I wonder if the Democrats are up to it.

Punk(s) of the Week

It's (once again) that time, when we fearlessly isolate the biggest Punk and reveal their Punkery for all the non-Punk world to see.

I have to tell you, folks, it's been a busy week for Punks. Let's call the roll:

Harriet Miers: Poor Tabula Rasa finally bowed to the increasing pressure from the Christian Fascist Wing of the False Republican Party and withdrew her nomination. It was enlightening for the American public (at least, those whose brains aren't connected by USB cables to Rupert Murdoch's private septic tank, aka Fox 'News') to see just how beholden the Bushite Junta is to the Christian Fascists. Granted, Tabula Rasa was about as qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice as Mad Harry the Hobo, but to read her gushing, worshipful grandmotherly devotions to George & Laura was to see that she had descended into rampant Punkettery.

Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby: The Chief of Staff for the Vice President got his worthless limping ass indicted this week, and it was wonderful to behold. He did the right thing and resigned, but that won't save him or his evil masters.

Karl Rove: You're next, Fat Boy.

The Christian Fascist Wing of the GOP: Those of us whose eyes are open and whose minds are unclouded have watched these bastards pulling the strings on their Republican puppets ever since Dear Leader became President in 2000. They have slowly and steadily emerged into the sunlight, enough to now openly declare that they have George W. by the testicles, and their threats to the GOP thralls in the Senate forced Frist to tell the President that he won't have Tabula Rasa on the Court. Now, add to that the ongoing superstitious nonsense that these DeathGod worshippers (I say that because nothing they say or do reminds me of anything Christlike) are trying to ram down our throats, including Intelligent Design, Creationism, Strict Constructionism, Dominionism, and you have before you a massive, almost Biblical, display of outstanding Punkery.

His Excellency Leader of the Free World and Imposer of the Pax Americana Upon all those Undeserving Brown People Whether They Want it or Not, George Walker Bush: Yep, it's certainly been a bad week for Dear Leader, who skedaddled out of Washington yesterday (again) for another weekend away from his actual job. I swear, if I took that much time off, I'd be unemployed. But still, I'm not having to cope with the blood of 2,005 or so dead Americans on my hands, nor am I having to cope with the fact that my right-hand 'man' might end up indicted or charged criminally for his efforts to browbeat and hoodwink this country into a war that has cost us lives, money, self-respect and goodwill.

So, George, you're a Punk, and you always have been a Punk. I'm sure the Secret Service laid in extra supplies of Jim Beam and fine-cut Peruvian Flake up at Camp David (don't worry - they won't tell Laura).

Shock and Awe

This is a link to a post by a most eloquent blogger, Driftglass:

http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2005/10/real-president-reminds-potential-rats.html

Read it.

Stand in awe of its eloquence and the pure, mad, gonzo poetry.

Internalize it.

Because these "god"-besotted cretins must be stopped.

Verbum Sapienti

From the London Times (www.timesonline.co.uk), today:

Analysis: Bush's darkest political hour

Gerard Baker, US Editor of The Times, says that President Bush has been embarrassed by Harriet Miers withdrawing her US Supreme Court nomination


“In the end her withdrawal was inevitable.
"The opposition to her nomination was becoming so strong among Republicans, it was really a question of how it was going to end, not if.
"Were they [the Bush administration] going to push it all the way to a hearing and a vote, which they increasingly looked likely to lose? A large proportion of Republicans were not willing to support her.
"A face-saving measure? - This looks like what they have done.
"It is a clever way of getting out of the situation – it saves a little face.
"She had been criticised for her cronyism – she had worked in the White House. But she was under-qualified for the Supreme Court - a middling corporate lawyer, with no experience on the bench, who has never offered much in the way of opinions.
"Obviously, she had got to where she was because of her proximity to the president. She was very close to him.
"It is a personal and political embarrassment for Bush.
"It is one of the darkest moments for the president in political terms within his own party. He has steadily been losing support with the nation, but despite Iraq and other problems, he has maintained support among Republicans. But that had changed with Miers.
"But this withdrawal does give him the chance for rebuilding, for putting forward a different nomination who is not so evidently awful as the last one.
"The White House still has to deal with the scandal surrounding Karl Rove, Mr Bush's chief adviser, and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.
"They are at the centre of a scandal which saw the naming of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Possible indictments of the White House aides could be presented within the next 24 hours.
"Mr Bush’s problems are by no means over."

The Coup of 2005

President Bush today accepted the withdrawal of Harriet Miers (aka Tabula Rasa) from nomination for Sandra O'Connor's Supreme Court seat. The pressure from the ultraright Christian Fascist Wing of the False Republican Party became too much for him, apparently.

Kind of interesting that a President who has prided himself on never admitting a mistake or backing away from a fight would fold up like a wet taco, unless his mother or "Reverend" Dobson got on the phone and hissed into his ears that he'd split the Republicans down the middle.

Actually, that might not be a bad idea .....

Willful Blindness

Yes, there is such a thing. One usually sees it in religion, in which faith trumps even what your senses tell you is the truth. Why else do some people call it 'Blind Faith?' However, you also see it in politics, and here's where things can get dangerous.

Say, for example, that you're an average Joe or Jane Lunchbucket. You feel that your government's not exactly in touch, but it does the best that it can. Suddenly your perception of safety and security is devastated by a terrorist attack, and you wonder who to turn to in order to keep you safe and stop these Bad People.

"Not to worry," says the government, "we'll protect you by attacking the Bad People." Hooray! And our troops go off to war and, within a few months, we have the Head Bad Guy cornered. Yes, he's treed like a raccoon with the hounds on him, great! But suddenly the government says, "Wait, we need to hit Bad Guy #2 in order to keep us safe," and everyone's head turns away from the cornered Bad Guy #1 (who promptly escapes and hides) with a speed that can give you whiplash.

We have a steady drumbeat running up to an invasion of Bad Guy #2's country, complete with a lot of information that might be a bit complicated. You don't want complicated; you want to be safe, and you KNOW that the government knows what it's doing.

Now, fast forward.

The government has been shown to have forged documents and blown things out of proportion in order to sell the idea of invading Bad Guy #2. Worse, a fellow who pointed out that documents were forged and Bad Guy #2 wasn't trying to hurt us ended up having his wife's job ripped open by the government. The invasion of Bad Guy #2's country has mired the military in an operation that harks back to Vietnam, right down to the reintroduction of body counts. Granted, there's been some progress, but that country is not quite safe (in fact, a recent poll revealed that 45% of them actually support the insurgency against our troops).

Slowly, painfully, the willful blindness has begun to slip away from Joe and Jane Lunchbucket. They realize that things have been mismanaged, and that the arrogance of petty men in powerful positions have been at the bottom of it.

Time to wake up.

Good News / Bad News

Good News:
The Iraqi Constitution appears to have passed, after allegations of fraud were resolved.

Bad News:
The Department of Defense revealed that three US soldiers died last week, raising the death toll since Mission Accomplished to an even 2,000. The Department of Defense stated that it will not mark this as a milestone, contenting itself with reviving the Vietnam-era practice of "body counts" in order to illustrate that we're winning.

Good News:
Dear Leader announced today that we will win the global war on terror.

Bad News:
The Iraqi insurgency is still going strong, and is increasing in sophistication, three years after Mission Accomplished. Further, the British Ministry of Defence has released the results of a poll where 45% of Iraqis support the insurgency, and 67% say they are less safe than when Saddam was in power.

Good News:
The Dear Leader's pick for Chairman of the Federal Reserve seems to be a hit with the markets.

Bad News:
Dear Leader's pick for Supreme Court nominee may not have even enough votes in the Judiciary Committee, let alone the full Senate.

Good News:
Recent press releases indicate that Vice President Cheney as well as Karl Rove and "Scooter" Libby may end up indicted in the Valerie Plame case.

Bad News:
There's still more than a year to go before impeachment proceedings can be started, since the House and the Senate are still held by a huge pack of False Republican hyenas.

"That's the news - good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow."

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude's a German word, and it basically means "joy from other's sorrow." So, whose sorrow can I draw joy and comfort from this weekend? Who has so far screwed things up that the sound of approaching tumbrils fills them with bowel-churning dread and me with the kind of ethereal pleasure normally associated with good sex?

Let's call the roll:

Tom DeLay - Oooh, yeah, Tommy Boy, that mug shot looks like a maiden aunt (a mean one) in male drag. When you were walking to the courthouse that day, could you have at least stopped mincing like a godsdamned nancy boy? You and your fathead lawyer are giving jurisprudence a bad name. And attacking the judge's politics was pure genius. I suppose that if I get hauled in on a DUI, I should try to get the judge to recuse himself if he donated to the Sheriff's election campaign.

Bill Frist - Bill, you're an asshole. Plain and simple. And you look like a cross between the Cryptkeeper and Leonid Brezhnev.

"Scooter" Libby - Who the hell keeps their childhood nickname into their middle-aged years? Oh, wait a minute, I know - lisping manchildren. Libby, you are probably going to end up on the ash heap of history, because what you did was not just a crime, but treason.

Karl Rove - The Man With Flesh-Colored Hair continues to ooze his way around official Washington, leaving a slick trail of slime wherever he goes. But now he starts to sweat as buttery emollients seep from his pores and he realizes that he has performed one too many political dirty tricks. The ghost of Lee Atwater looks down on his protege and says, "Dumbass."

Condoleezza Rice - Good going in front of the Senate committee, Condi. Was the Administration lying about Iraq in 2002, or is it lying about Iraq now? We DO have things called videotape and long-term memories, you stupid bitch.

Pat Robertson - I just finished talking to God, and He's very mad at you. Watch your back.

George W Bush - According to unnamed sources in the White House, Dear Leader's profane and childish temper tantrums are getting more frequent and more obvious to everyone. Even the Slave Media are starting to report it in magazines like Time. His choice of Tabula Rasa for Supreme Court managed to start the one thing we in the Real World hoped he'd do - piss off his core constituency, that vast crowd of blood-crazed Death worshippers who would march willingly off a cliff if their high priests told them it's "what Jesus wants."

Enough. I need a shower.

Success (?)

Fox "News" anchor and willing (if not salivatingly eager) member of the Slave Media, Sean Hannity, stated on the air that he considered the War in Iraq to be "Bush's greatest success story." One can only imagine him saying this in a muffled manner, as he continues to perform nonstop fellatio on this unbearably corrupt and stupid administration.

But he has a point. Looked at a certain way, this war has been a success.

-It's made recruiting terrorists easier.

-It's destroying the middle class.

-It's destabilizing the entire Southwest Asia region.

-It's drawing resources away from the Real War on Terror.

-It's making us look like a nation of cruel, churlish thugs.

-It's fracturing the Republican Party.

-It's making the Democrats actually start to look like statesmanlike, principled leaders.

So, as you can see, Hannity was quite right. This wrong war is a great success for George W Bush and His Criminal Gang. In future, when his Presidential Library is built, I would suggest that there be a great reflecting pool of blood in front of it, and all those who played a role in the Lies that are the foundation of this war should be drowned in it.

My opinion.


PS: A personal success - I turn 44 today! Hurrah!

Letter from A False Republican

I got this via email (of all things) from the candyass - er, candidate for Senator, Ms Katherine Harris:

Bill Nelson's voting record scored more liberal than Hillary Clinton's and Charles Schumer's. He is beholden to John Kerry for fundraising solicitations. Floridians are beginning to see Bill Nelson for the liberal he truly is in Washington D.C.
The Wall Street Journal reported a poll today performed by Zogby International that demonstrates Katherine Harris is only 3.9 points down from incumbent Bill Nelson. This report is exciting and encouraging news for the Harris campaign. This poll confirms once again that Nelson is vulnerable and consistently performing under 50%, which is raising red flags in Washington and around the state of Florida.
Although we've just begun -- the Harris campaign is moving in the right direction!

And here is my reply:

As a True Republican, I consider Katherine Harris a moral blot upon the body politic of this country, and a sterling example of what is wrong with the Republican Party. The only way I would consider voting for her is if you put a gun to my head, and even then I will have to think about it.

And I meant every last single word of that.

Strange Music

... Or, Why do I hear an unholy mixture of Dueling Banjos and the Twilight Zone theme whenever I see an evangelist?

Well, I'll tell you. I think it's because I can't stomach theodicy any longer.

For those of you who may not know, theodicy is a term coined by the German philosopher Leibniz, and basically means a theory on how the world works in relation to God. I was reminded of it while watching the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the esteemed evangelist Billy Graham, holding forth on the tired idea that somehow God meant to flood New Orleans and kill over a thousand Americans throughout the Gulf Coast in order to punish sin.

We've gotten this crap from several directions ever since Katrina was upgraded to Category 2 (Christian fundies, Jewish fundies, and Muslim fundies) but that's what it is: crap. If there was truly a causal connection between moral evil ('sin,' depravity, greed, etc.) and natural evil (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) then the earth would have opened up and swallowed Tom DeLay years ago.

Were all those people evil? Did they all deserve to die? I think not. So, here we are, trying to construct meaning in a random, meaningless universe.

Scant wonder that people shy away from the prospect of having to stand on their own feet, preferring to cling to the old theodicies (moral evil = natural evil, 'this is the best of all possible worlds,' 'whatever is, is right,' etc.).

Or look at it this way. Suppose these three statements are true:
1. Evil exists.
2. God is benevolent.
3. God is omnipotent.

Either way you slice it, you either end up with an impotent God or an evil God.

I yield the floor for discussion.

Bill O'Reilly

You have to admire Bill O'Reilly of Fox News. Not only has he totally embraced his collar and leash as one of the biggest mouths of the Slave Media's most "fair and balanced" outlets, but despite the truth, despite everything, despite even History Itself, O'Reilly soldiers on.

During an "interview" (actually an attempt by O'Reilly to bully retired General Wesley Clark), O'Reilly wandered into the hoary netherworld of Alternate History to state that soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division massacred German soldiers near the Belgian town of Malmedy in 1944.

Yes, you heard it right. Of course, Fox immediately edited out that bit from its transcript of the show, but others have alertly picked up on it, notably the good people over at crooksandliars.com.

For the record, US soldiers were massacred near Malmedy by German SS troops.

Bill O'Reilly should mind his manners, lest he receive a visit from current or past members of that elite airborne division. And Bill? You might want to invest in more health insurance.

On the March

There's been a lot of things in what passes for the news the past few days (those things that the Slave Media are allowed to impart, buttressed by the actual stories reported by the foreign press (thank the gods for the BBC). Here's a few of things we're seeing:

Democracy on the March:

The BBC and al-Jazeera are both reporting that the UN is somewhat pissed off at the Iraqi 'government' for changing their charter regarding passage of the new constitution. It seems that they will base whether or not it passes by registered voters, not actual voters. This, understandably, has the Sunni minority more than a bit irritated. Speaking of irritated, the Kurds have made noises about pulling out of the coalition government. Geopolitically, if the Kurds set up shop on their own, Iran, Syria and especially Turkey will look upon it as an unfriendly act. Hold onto your hats, kids.

Five more American soldiers were killed today, as Operation Bleeding Wound drags on with no end in sight. General Casey, the overall commander in Iraq, stated to the Senate that instead of 3 battalions of the Iraqi Army being able to conduct operations by themselves (as stated in June of this year), the number now is 1.

Yes. One. The loneliest number, if you recall Three Dog Night.

Chances are the Pentagon just changed their measuring criteria, which would account for the change, but it's still a sobering assessment. We will not be pulling out or reducing our forces in Iraq for the foreseeable future.

Morons on the March:

Judge Roy '10 Commandments' Moore. You remember him? He's the former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who got fired for refusing to remove a granite Ten Commandments monument. Well, Roy's back in the news, saying that he'll run for Governor of Alabama.

Hoo hah. I can visualize George Wallace looking on and saying, "That's good - people won't think I'm such an asshole now."

Associate Justice Nominee Harriet 'Tabula Rasa' Miers. Now, this caught some people by surprise, notably the UltraWrong wing of the False Republican Party. Miers is a political crony par excellence whose only major quality seems to be her near-slavish loyalty to Our Dear Leader. Look for an interesting confirmation hearing in the Senate, particularly the smug looks on the faces of the Democrats and the worried frowns on some of the False Republican thralls (excuse me, Senators).

Representative Tom 'Old Maid' DeLay (R-TX). His lawyer started to argue that the grand jury indictment last week was invalid because it was ex post facto - that is, the law making it a crime wasn't on the books at the time. So when the new grand jury handed down a second indictment, DeLay and his lawyer cried 'do-over.' Hey, dummies - there's no double jeopardy in a grand jury, so shut your yammering pieholes and get ready for a length court process.

Dear Leader on the March:

Our Dear Leader has lately been looking a bit grim, or at least moody. Quite the opposite from his usual smirking, giggling self. With his foreign policy besmirched by Operation Bleeding Wound, his domestic policy in disarray and his leadership faltering in the face of indictments, investigations, natural disasters and total government fuckeduppery, he's starting to ... well ...

If it walks like a ....

And talks like a ...

It might just be.