Mexican President Blurts Racial Slur. Quran Desecration Part Deux. Syria This Week's Number One With A Bullet.

Brothers Can't Even Get A Break In Mexico Now?

Mexican President Vicente Fox stepped in some eyeball-deep shit last Friday when he made a remark stating that migrant Mexican workers were leaving his country for the United States to perform jobs that not even blacks would do. Somehow, Mr. Fox is puzzled that this statement is being viewed by some as racist.

Yahoo News excerpt:

MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox refused to apologize Monday for saying Mexicans in the United States do the work that blacks won't, a comment widely viewed as acceptable in a country where blackface comedy is still considered funny and nicknames often reflect skin color.

This story is NOT off to a good start for President Fox...

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City had raised the issue with the Mexican government. "That's a very insensitive and inappropriate way to phrase this and we would hope that (the Mexicans) would clarify the remarks if they have a chance," Boucher said.

Gee, way to take a strong stand on this issue Mr. Boucher...

Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said the remark has been misinterpreted as a racial slur. He said the president was speaking in defense of Mexican migrants as they come under attack by the new U.S. immigration measures that include a wall along the U.S.-California border.

Well Mr. Fox, if you are so concerned about the welfare of these migrant workers, then why the heel don't you and your government do something about improving the economic situation in your country?

Stung by the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigrants, many Mexicans including Mexico City's archbishop said Fox was just stating a fact. "The president was just telling the truth," said Celedonio Gonzalez, a 35-year-old carpenter who worked illegally in Dallas for six months in 2001. "Mexicans go to the United States because they have to. Blacks want to earn better wages, and the Mexican because he is illegal takes what they pay him."

Oh, so it's sort of a classic "left-handed compliment". Actually, I don't think the archbishop and the carpenter were addressing the racial component of this story, just the economic impact. At least that's how I read it...

But the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, two black U.S. civil rights activists, said Fox should apologize. "His statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive," Jackson said.

Thank you Rev. Jackson. It's a relief to see someone of your stature point out the inciting and divisive nature in others...

Lisa Catanzarite, a sociologist at Washington State University, disputed Fox's assertion. She said there is intense competition for lucrative working class jobs like construction and that employers usually prefer to hire immigrants who don't know their rights. "What Vicente Fox called a willingness to work ... translates into extreme exploitability," she said.

See previous remark critical of Mr. Fox and his government...

Fox made the comment Friday during a public appearance in Puerto Vallarta, saying: "There's no doubt that Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/mexico_fox_blacks

The emphasis in Fox's statement is the killer here -- "doing the wotk that NOT EVEN BLACKS want to do..." I believe the colloquial equivalent to the type of labor being described here is "n----- work. If that's not a racist statement then I'm a fire hydrant.


Newsweek Retracts Story on Quran Abuse

In a follow-up to yesterday's post about Newsweek backtracking on it's May 9th report about desecration of the Quran at Guantanamo Bay as an interrogation tactic, it appears that Newsweek is acting like Harry Reid being stared down by Bill Frist. Yahoo News excerpt:

NEW YORK - Newsweek magazine, under fire for a publishing story that led to deadly protests in Afghanistan, said Monday it was retracting its report that a military probe had found evidence of desecration of the Quran by U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay.

Earlier Monday, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan had criticized Newsweek's initial response to the incident, saying it was "puzzling."

Bullshit. Newsweek's initial response was to double-check it's sources. One of those confirmed Isikoff's story while the other did a quick fade. Scott's response to Newsweek's initial response is what is puzzling here.

Newsweek had reported in its issue dated May 9 that U.S. military investigators had found evidence that interrogators placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms and had flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk. Newsweek acknowledged problems with the story and its editor, Mark Whitaker, apologized in an editor's note in this week's edition. The accusations spawned protests in Afghanistan that left 15 dead and scores injured.

Whitaker wrote in an editor's note that "We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst."

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050516/ap_on_re_us/newsweek_quran_13

What a fucking joke. Now the inevitable Dan Rather comparisons will be shouted out all over knuckle-drag talk radio. Whitaker is taking the U.S. authorities at their word that the story is now bogus -- the very same authorities that originally gave Newsweek the story in the first place!

So what, if anything has changed? As I stated in my previous post, the scenario, as reported in the May 9th issue, is more than plausible given the mindset and attitude of every member of this administration. The other alternative is that this was a setup job from the start engineered by none other than Karl Rove, the Man Behind The Curtain himself. It would be just like these hollow little bastards to fabricate such a story because they knew that there would be a quick and visceral reaction to it. These guys may lack credibility, but they aren't too high on the subtlety meter either.


Syria, YOU'RE NEXT!!!

It appears that Syria has moved to the front of the pack in the field of countries that have the greatest chance to be attacked by President Bush before the end of the year. Yahoo News excerpt:

SHANNON, Ireland - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday appealed to Syria's Arab neighbors to pressure Damascus to close its borders to foreign militants seeking to join the Iraqi insurgency.

Gee, could she have been talking about the same borders that President Useless and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld found too inconvenient to secure when we invaded? And has Syria moved ahead of Iran because of all the business Halliburton has been doing with Vice President Potty Mouth's close, personal Iranian friends?

She also voiced optimism about Iraq's emerging multi-ethnic government but predicted difficult negotiations as a constitutional deadline nears.

That may well be the first time she has ever told the truth as a member of this administration...

"Somebody will threaten to walk out and there will be a lot of drama around it because that tends to happen in political processes ... but they've shown remarkable ability to deliver," Rice said of the Iraqis as she headed home from a brief visit to that country. "As with any political process ... in any country, there will be some 11th hour character to it," she added.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050516/ap_on_re_eu/rice

What a load of fertilizer. Deliver what? There is no clear majority in what passes for this new government, which is probably what Puppet Master Rove and Cheney wanted all along. Besides, anyone with more brains than Bush knows that when push comes to shove, we will write their constitution for them and that will be the end of it. We now have over 1,600 soldiers dead and thousands more wounded, not to mention the tens of thousands of civilian casualties since the beginning of the Iraq war. Do we really want to match or exceed these numbers in Syria?

Weekend Update: Condi Visits The Mess She Helped Create. Is Newsweek To Blame? John McCain Pleads To Fellow Reps For Sanity. Red Sox Update.

More Success In Iraq

Secretary of State Killa Sleazy Rice pulled a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday amid more and more insurgent attacks on US troops and members of the new Iraqi "government" and civilians. Excerpt from the UK Times via Google News:

THE surprise visit of Condoleezza Rice to Iraq was upstaged yesterday as insurgents mounted a wave of attacks against those loyal to the shaky United States-backed Government. In the first visit by a member of the Bush Administration since Iraq formed its Government a fortnight ago, the US Secretary of State sought to give impetus to the country’s political transformation.

Yet even as she was shuttled across the country, insurgents stepped up their campaign of terror on a day in which 42 people died. It began with a double suicide-bomb attack against Raad Rashid, the Governor of Diyala province. He escaped unhurt, but four policemen and two civilians were killed. The attack followed assassinations of two government officials, one who worked at the Industry Ministry, the other at the Foreign Ministry. A Shia cleric was also murdered by gunmen.

Then police found the handcuffed bodies of 13 men near the sprawling Sadr City slum in Baghdad. They had been shot dead and abandoned in a rubbish dump. West of Baghdad, in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, the remains of ten Iraqi soldiers were found with their throats cut. South of the capital, in Iskandariya, the corpses of eleven more Iraqis, thought to be lorry drivers, were found in a field, four of them beheaded.

The killings pushed the death toll in Iraq to nearly 500 since the new Government was formed. Laith Kubba, the Government's spokesman, blamed foreign volunteers for the campaign, which included 70 car bombs, and accused these criminals of trying to prove that the Government is incapable of protecting the people.

American forces have tried to blunt the insurgent campaign and yesterday ended Operation Matador, a week-long offensive to halt the infiltration of foreign fighters into Iraq across the Syrian border. Nine US Marines were killed along with 125 suspected terrorists, but there was no appreciable impact on the insurgency.

Dr Rice said yesterday: The insurgency is very violent, but you defeat insurgencies not just militarily in fact not especially militarily you defeat them by having a political alternative that is strong.

Full story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1614010,00.html

So Killa Sleazy, what is this brilliant political alternative that you and the gang of crooked thugs for whom you work have in mind to defeat these insurgents? If it is anything like the nonsense that President Brainless has been spewing lately, then I think it is safe to say that we will continue to see headlines from Iraq that read like this: Baghdad Car Bombs Kill ___ U.S. Soldiers And ___ Iraqi Civilians. The headline can be run every day with the press just updating the numbers day by day as you rotten bastards continue to pretend things are just fine in Mesopotamia.


Newsweek Apologizes For Colossal "Mistake"

Check this Washington Post report about Newsweek's supposed mistake regarding their report of the desecration of copies of the Quran that led to massive protests and casualties in Afghanistan last week. Excerpt:

NEW YORK -- Newsweek magazine has apologized for errors in a story alleging that interrogators at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Quran, saying it would re-examine the accusations, which sparked outrage and deadly protests in Afghanistan.

Fifteen people died and scores were injured in violence between protesters and security forces, prompting U.S. promises to investigate the allegations.

"We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst," Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker wrote in a note to readers.

In an issue dated May 9, the magazine reported that U.S. military investigators had found evidence that interrogators placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms and had flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk.

Whitaker wrote that the magazine's information came from "a knowledgeable U.S. government source," and before publishing the item, writers Michael Isikoff and John Barry sought comment from two Defense Department officials. One declined to respond, and the other challenged another part of the story but did not dispute the Quran charge, Whitaker said.

But on Friday, a top Pentagon spokesman told the magazine that a review of the military's investigation concluded "it was never meant to look into charges of Quran desecration. The spokesman also said the Pentagon had investigated other desecration charges by detainees and found them 'not credible.'"

Also, Whitaker added, the magazine's original source later said he could not be sure he read about the alleged Quran incident in the report they cited, and that it might have been in another document. "Top administration officials have promised to continue looking into the charges, and so will we," Whitaker wrote.

Full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/15/AR2005051500605.html

So now the story is all bullshit? Are we really supposed to believe that a bunch of evangelical neocon douchebags would not only not condone such behavior as desecrating another religion's holy book, but that they would actively seek to punish members of the armed forces at the detention center? Maybe they'll try to pin this on Lynndie England and Former General (now Colonel) Janice Karpinski too...

Okay, so Isikoff isn't exactly Sherlock Holmes, but he's never been accused of simply having made shit up like Ann Coulter either. So what do we have here? Did the unnamed Defense Department official lie when he didn't dispute the charge? If so, did he do so knowing that such a report would eventually see the light of day in the Middle East and thereby set off a whole new round of anti-American protests? I'd like to think that this was not planned by Cheney and the administration, but after seeing how many other things they've fucked up in this war it wouldn't surprise me a bit to find that this was intentional. Why? Easy. Dumbya has called this a crusade a number of times, and the stupid son of a bitch probably thinks he's living in the days that will usher in Armageddon, and that it's his job to help push things along. What better way to keep the shit stirred up in a country we've already "conquered" by pulling a stunt like this?


John McCain Just Wants Us All To Get Along

In yet another example of why it will take a few sane Republicans to stop President Useless from destroying everything he touches, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) is warning idiots like Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to play nice or else the Reps could reap what they sow. Bloomberg News excerpt:

May 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senator John McCain said the fight between Democrats and Republicans over Senate rules of debate on judicial nominees may jeopardize initiatives including President George W. Bush's proposal to revamp Social Security.

``There's a number of other compelling issues, whether it be deficit reduction or the war on terrorism, Iraq, many other legislative items'' that would get stalled by the fight over filibusters, McCain said today on ABC's ``This Week'' program.

Senator McCain is obviously mistaking Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid for a fighter. Christ, it's almost as if Tom Daschle was still leading the Dems...

Senate Republican leader Bill Frist is threatening to try to bar Democrats from using the filibuster -- a parliamentary tactic that allows unlimited debate -- to block Bush's appointments for judgeships. Democrats warn they will counter by using procedural rules to drag out Senate action.

Senator Frist, asshole that he is, at least understands that the Dems will pretend to fight, then cave in the end.

McCain, of Arizona, is one of two Senate Republicans who say they will buck party leaders and vote against changing the rules. Representatives of both sides said today they have enough votes to prevail if the issue comes to a head this week.

Democrats have used the filibuster to block votes on 10 of Bush's federal appeals court nominees, seven of whom have been resubmitted by the President. By comparison, the Republican-controlled Senate blocked 64 nominees of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, by refusing to hold votes or hearings rather than by filibuster.

Full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aBJauO2iqzgo&refer=top_world_news

I wish to hell someone would point that last sentence of the excerpt out to shitheads like Limbaugh, Hannity and O'Reilly. They are pretending that what the Dems did to Dubya's ten thalidomide appointees is the greatest Constitutional outrage in over 200 years while conveniently forgetting their slimy roles in helping the Reps gut Clinton's nominees.


Sox Lose Two Of Three In Seattle. Manny Hits Number 400.

The Red Sox (22-15) lost 5-4 today to the Mariners at Safeco Field as Manny Ramirez hit his 400th career home run. The milestone homer was a three-run shot to right-center field in the top of the fifth inning off of starter Gil "Ga" Meche.

Meche was impressive for most of the six innings he threw. He hit 94 MPH several times with his fastball and showed outstanding control. By the fifth, he was nearing 70 pitches, not an excessive amount, but allowed singles to Mark Bellhorn and Johnny Damon before Ramirez' homer. The relief work of Shigetoshi Hasegawa, the unfortunately named J.J. Putz and Eddie Guardado combined to keep the Sox bats at bay to close out the win.

Tim Wakefield had a quirky game. Wake surrendered two of the three hits catcher Miguel Olivo, who was hitting .127 entering the game, had on the day. The first of these came in the bottom of the second inning -- a squibber between the mound and third that eluded the Sox infielders, and led to Bret Boone scoring the first run of the game all the way from second base. The Mariners went on to score three more times in the inning to take a lead they would never relinquish. Wake would also allow Olivo's first homer of the year in the fourth inning.

In other AL action, the Orioles beat the White Sox 6-2 to move to two games ahead of the Sox at 24-13. The red-hot Yankees beat the A's 6-4 to get to .500 at 19-19. They are threatening to move into third place in the AL East, currently occupied by the Blue Jays (20-18) who beat the Indians 5-2.

Bolton Nomination Handjob Update. Mass Military Base Closings. Brainless Baseball Analysis.

Bolton Nomination Handjob Continues

The latest scoop in the Bolton nomination to be Minister of Cruelty at the UN is detailed in the following Yahoo News excerpt:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Friday dismissed demands to turn over additional documents on John Bolton despite Democratic threats to delay a U.S. Senate vote on his troubled nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The day after a Senate committee advanced Bolton's nomination to the full Senate -- but took the rare step of withholding its endorsement -- the White House defended its embattled nominee and said senators had all the information they needed.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California said she would delay a Senate vote on Bolton, currently the top U.S. diplomat for arms control, until the administration turns over classified documents that Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee had sought before the committee's vote on Thursday.

Good for you Barbara. Now I hope to hell you have the guts to stick to your promise...

Democrats are weighing whether to use a broader procedural roadblock -- a filibuster that would require a 60-votes majority for confirmation -- to try to defeat the nomination. The Democratic caucus likely will decide that next week, and Boxer's action "should not necessarily be read as a step along the way to a filibuster," said Norm Kurz, spokesman for Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, top Foreign Relations Committee Democrat.

Typical white flag maneuver by Biden. As my buddy Bartcop all too frequently asks, why is this hack cashing his Senate paychecks? I agree. His constituents should sued him for fraud.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan called Boxer's move "just a delaying tactic," and said the administration "has been very responsive to the needs of the Senate."

What a load of complete and utter bullshit. McClellan, like the rest of this crooked gang of thugs, should have the graphic "He's Lying" imposed over his image whenever he speaks, similar to the way the immortal Joe Isuzu was presented several years ago.

Pointless Trivia: Who played Joe Isuzu in those commercials?

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "We don't think anything further is required before a floor vote," adding that release of some materials on deliberations within the administration would have a "chilling effect."

A chilling effect? Really? As chilling as say, the document that the Brits released earlier in the week that showed British Prime Minister Blair and President Useless met to fudge the facts concerning WMD as an excuse to attack Iraq when Dubya swore he hadn't made up what passes for his mind to invade? That kind of a chilling effect?

McClellan defended Bolton as "a results-oriented kind of guy" after a bruising Senate committee session in which he was depicted by Democrats and some Republicans as a bully who tried to intimidate intelligence officials into making their findings support his hard-line views.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050513/us_nm/bush_bolton_dc_25

I'm quite certain Bolton is "a results-oriented kind of guy". He gets the results that fit his paranoid world view, and that of his puppet masters, while ignoring (at best) and attacking (at worst) results that don't fit into the Bush Administration One Size Fits All Valu-Pak. Why else would George Voinovich (R-Ohio) have lambasted him so badly during the final confirmation hearing? Or is referring to Bolton as the "poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be" not an obvious enough indicator that this fool is unfit for this position? We need the UN. We do not need a piece of excrement like Bolton to be the next UN ambassador. Ms. Boxer, I hope you are true to your word...


Help Is On The Way...NOT!!!

In a move that proves President Bush is the biggest lying mothershitter to ever occupy the White House, he and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced a major military overhaul. The overhaul takes the form of massive military base closures, as is demonstrated in the following Yahoo News excerpt:

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is proposing the most sweeping changes to its network of military bases in modern history, a plan that would close 33 major facilities in 22 states and reconfigure hundreds of others to achieve savings and promote cooperation among the armed services.

More than two years in the making, Friday's recommendations by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld represented his attempt to balance a whirl of competing forces. They include the changing threats facing the nation, massive federal deficits, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economies of local communities and political pressures.

Are they referring to the federal deficits that resulted from increased spending and massive tax cuts for the rich?

While state officials, community leaders, lobbyists and members of Congress combed through a thicket of data the Pentagon presented, the overarching theme of Rumsfeld's plan was surprisingly simple: To be more combat ready and affordable, the individual services must become leaner and more unified.

An example: The Army would move the 7th Special Forces Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., to the Air Force's Eglin, Fla., base, so both services' elite troops could train together more easily. An airfield next to Eglin is the headquarters of Air Force Special Operations Command.

Out would go the crown jewel of the Army hospital system: the venerable Walter Reed hospital in Washington. The hospital would move staff and services to the National Naval Medical Center in nearby Bethesda, Md., to create a new, expanded facility carrying the Walter Reed name.

Oh, so one of the most prestigious medical facilities for the treatment of our veterans is being eliminated. And I don't believe for one nanosecond that nonsense about expanding the National Naval Medical Center.

The proposal submitted to Congress and an independent base closing commission evoked immediate howls of protest from members of Congress whose states stand to lose jobs civilian and military and the Pentagon pledged to lend a helping hand to the hardest hit communities.

"It is wrong. It is shortsighted," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said when he learned the closures would include the submarine base at Groton. He called it "cruel and unusual punishment" of his state, which would suffer a net loss of 7,133 military and 1,041 civilian jobs.

Hey Joe, fuck you. You signed up for this shit when you removed your trailer hitch from Al Gore's Cadillac and attached it to President Asswipe's Yugo. Do us all a favor and change your party affiliation.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050514/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/base_closings

Everyone in this administration should be ashamed of themselves. Does anyone remember Dubya's Campaign 2000 pledge to the military that help was on the way? Better yet, can anyone who has served, or is currently serving in our armed forces explain to me why you support this asshole? He has proven time and time again, through not giving the troops the equipment they need, by letting Halliburton and it's centipede arms of subsidiaries gouge and steal from them, and now by closing these bases and medical treatment facilities that he is not a man of honor. I was under the impression that honor trumped everything in the military.

And how does this "overhaul" make the country safer? It stands to reason that by closing these bases, we are putting our eggs in fewer baskets, so to speak. That does two things: One, it decreases our readiness to fight, or to have a ready pipeline of resources for places in which we are already engaged. Two, it increases the likelihood that any terror attacks could take out larger portions of our military infrastructure as a result of this downsizing.

I hope these sons of bitches sleep well, and that these decisions do not come back to bite us in the arse.


Brainless Baseball Analysis

I just witnessed some exceptionally brainless baseball analysis on ESPN's SportsCenter. Jeff Brantley, former NL relief ace was asked to critique Bobby Abreu of the Phillies. Abreu is currently riding a streak in which he has homered in five straight games. Brantley's "analysis" consisted of him saying that, as closely as I can recall, "Bobby is one of those guys who gets his bat on the ball. He doesn't strike out much, and he's finally found a stroke that allows him to hit homers."

Brantley, as my grandfather would have said, is full of old shoes. First, Abreu DOES strike out a lot. Even though he owned a .305 career batting average entering the 2005 season, he has, since emerging as a regular in 1998, struck out over 100 times every season since then. He has struck out 858 times in the 1,096 games he has played in a Phillies uniform (and an additional 51 times in 74 games he played for the Astros in 1996 and 1997). That works out to 122.5 strikeouts a season. In fact Abreu had the tenth most strikeouts of National League batters in 1998 with 133 and in 2001 with 137.

The second issue with Brantley's assessment of Abreu's sudden power surge is equally wrong. Abreu has hit 163 homers for the Phillies from 1998 to 2004, an average of 23.3 per season and hit a career high of 31 in 2001 and hit 30 in 2004. He also swatted 25 big flies in 2000 and had 20 on the nose in 1999, 2002 and 2003, so it's not like he just found the secret to hitting homers, he's just hot right now.

Abreu has long been an overlooked star, consistently hitting over .300, averaging 23 homers, 41 doubles and 6 triples a season. He has also stolen an average of 29 bases a year making him a total offensive threat. He has also drawn an average of 105.6 walks a season, so his on-base percentage is always over .400 which leads him to score an average of 104 runs a year. And as a middle of the order guy he is also productive averaging 92 RBI a season. Add to that the fact that he is a good defender in right field and you will quickly see that Abreu is one of the most complete players in the major leagues.

I can understand the average non-Phillies follower not understanding these facts, but Brantley is a former major leaguer. Not only that, he was Abreu's teammate in 1999 and 2000! He has no excuse for being so ignorant of these facts.

Note: Through the Phillies first 36 games of 2005, Abreu is hitting .313 with 8 homers, 28 RBI, 24 runs scored and 10 steals. None of these numbers figure into the averages computed above.

More NASA Cowardice. War On Drugs Update. Silly Superstitions for $400.

NASA Continues To Accept Lowered Expectations

The stagnation that has haunted the American space program since the mid-1970s continues with more mealy-mouthing by new NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.

Yahoo News excerpt:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's new boss made an impassioned case Thursday for speeding up development of a new spacecraft so that the United States will not lose access to space when the shuttle is retired, but warned something else will have to be sacrificed.

Administrator Michael Griffin told a Senate subcommittee in Washington that to cover the cost of the shuttle replacement's accelerated debut, he may be forced to delay some space station and exploration research. "We can't do everything on our plate, and we have to have priorities and first things first," he said.

This is so goddamned typical of the way this country has dealt with the Final Frontier since the Apollo missions ended. We end up short-changing one program in favor of another one, and end up with compromises all around. A good example of this nonsense is the International Space Station. In the effort to squeeze every penny of funding for this important initiative we ended up with a huge orbiting ornament that has nowhere near the value it should have.

Done correctly, the ISS would serve multiple functions:
1. It would be a halfway point of delivery for spacecraft heading to the Moon and to other bodies in the Solar System. 2. It would also serve as a conduit for a well regulated space shuttle fleet to rotate scientists back and forth between Earth, the station and the Moon.
3. It would serve as a huge laboratory for conducting experiments and observations. Among these would be:
A. To observe the Sun's atmosphere.
B. To Observe the area around our planet for near-Earth asteroids.
C. To study the long-term affects of low gravity on humans.
And that's just off the top of my head!

But wait, there's more:

Griffin wants to fly the proposed new spacecraft as soon as possible once the space shuttle fleet is retired in 2010 — avoiding a four-year gap in which the United States would have no way to launch astronauts.

The current plan, which he inherited when he took over NASA last month, calls for the new vehicle to carry a crew into orbit by 2014 and be capable of traveling to the moon and Mars, with modifications, in the years beyond. Griffin said he finds that four-year launch gap unacceptable and hopes to have a plan for closing it by mid-July. The new crew exploration vehicle, or CEV, is a key part of President Bush's plan for returning astronauts to the moon by 2020.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050512/ap_on_sc/nasa_chief

This is totally unacceptable. I was seven years old when Apollo 11 landed the first men on the Moon. This July that will have been 36 years ago, and we have little to show for it. The cheap Christmas toy of a space station is a joke. Sure, the Hubble Telescope has given us breathtaking views of the universe, but don't forget how we nearly fucked it up with shitty planning that resulted due to the very pussyfooting Griffin is proposing.

We should have at least a million people living on the Moon by now, with perhaps 100,000 living on Mars. In addition, we should have three permanent space stations in orbit in the Earth-Moon LaGrange points. Sound ambitious? Hell yes it is, but considering that we've been a space-faring nation, even with the recent compromised standards, for nearly 50 years, it stands to reason that we should already have made some progress in the areas I've detailed. Instead, it is sadly apparent that we have regressed in this vital area, and that we are likely to continue to do so as long as NASA is run by timid men like Griffin.

Perhaps the answer is to get billionaires like Bill Gates or Ted Turner involved with funding some of the projects I've discussed. That way, we'd be sure to eliminate certain members of Congress from the arena. Persons like the legendary William Proxmire, who, when representing Wisconsin, fought long and hard to gut NASA spending calling it wasteful, while accepting millions of dollars in dairy subsidy money that didn't do a thing to improve the lives of anyone for whom he claimed to stand. Mr. Gates, Mr. Turner, I eagerly await your correspondence to discuss some long-range plans...


FBI Nabs Troops, Officers in Drug Sting

The latest development in the War On Drugs gives us a case of corruption and smuggling that encompassed law enforcement personnel and some of our own soldiers.

Yahoo News excerpt:

TUCSON, Ariz. - Pretending to be cocaine traffickers, undercover FBI agents in Arizona snared 16 current and former law enforcement officers and U.S. soldiers who accepted more than $222,000 in bribes to help move the drugs past checkpoints, the government said Thursday.

Those charged include a former Immigration and Naturalization Service inspector, a former Army sergeant, a former federal prison guard, seven members of the Arizona Army National Guard, five members of the Arizona Department of Corrections and a police officer, officials said.

All 16 agreed to plead guilty to being part of a bribery and corruption conspiracy and were scheduled to enter pleas Thursday in federal court, said Noel Hillman, a Justice Department official. Each faced a single conspiracy count carrying a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine, though all could be entitled to probation, Hillman said.

The defendants in the nearly 3 1/2-year-long sting were not arrested and agreed to cooperate with an investigation expected to bring more arrests and involve people from additional agencies, said Hillman and FBI Agent Jana D. Monroe, who is in charge of the bureau's operations in Arizona.

Hillman said the defendants drove cocaine shipments past checkpoints manned by the government while they wore official uniforms, carried identification and used official vehicles.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050512/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fbi_cocaine_sting

So much for "To Protect And To Serve". This kind of thing is going to continue to occur as long as the types of drugs that were confiscated remain illegal. I'm not a drug user, but I favor legalization as a common sense answer to this problem that only seems to get worse every year.

By legalizing these drugs, we eliminate the black market effect and expose our economy to a HUGE amount of money that could be used to do an awful lot of things we need to be doing. Things like fully fund education for all students, provide universal health care coverage, pay down the nation's budget and trade deficits and ensure the viability of Social Security (above the level of solvency it currently enjoys, and is projected to provide).

Unfortunately, as long as drugs are viewed as a law enforcement issue rather than a medical one, we will continue to see countless lives ruined while crooked politicians, police and military personnel make illicit money off of the misery of those who become addicts.


I'll Take Silly Superstitions For $400 Alex.

Here's a bit a craziness from England by way of the Yahoo News Oddly Enough section:

LONDON (Reuters) - A schoolgirl told a British court Thursday she was put into a laundry bag and was going to be thrown from a third-floor apartment window into a river by her mother and aunt who thought she was a witch.

Prosecutors say the girl, brought to London from Angola by a woman claiming to be her mother, had been regularly abused by members of her family after they had become convinced she was putting curses on members of her family.

The court has heard the abuse culminated in a plan by her 38-year-old "mother" and another woman, Sita Kisanga, 35, who says she is the girl's aunt, to kill her.

"They put me in a bag and said they would throw me away," the girl, sitting next to a large teddy bear, told police in a videoed interview shown to London's Old Bailey court.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050512/od_nm/britain_witch_dc

Upon reading the first sentence I couldn't help but recall the scene in the classic film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in which a group of serfs claimed to have found a woman they claimed was a witch, and were eager to burn her until the local knight, Sir Bedevere stepped in to guide the process of determining whether she truly was a witch. The rest of the scene is comedic gold.

Bedevere asks several questions of these idiots, all of whom are dumber than President Useless. The final determination was that if the woman weighed as much as a duck, then she would float on water, which then would have made her a witch. So the woman is weighed on a HUGE balance scale against a duck, and lo and behold, the two weighed exactly the same! "It's a fair cop," says the poor woman as she is hauled away off camera, presumably to be burned.

Unfortunately, the story from the excerpt contains no humor. It is a sad example of superstition and cruelty. I don't know what life is like in Angola, where the family is from, but this looks like a combination of child abuse and religious insanity.

Would-be Kerry Voter Excommunicator Resigns. Stray Pilot Causes Mass Evacuation In D.C. More Late Red Sox Drama.

Would-be Kerry Voter Excommunicator Resigns

In a follow-up to yesterday's post, Rev. Chan Chandler has resigned his post as pastor of his church after the allegations that he tried to run Kerry supporters out of his congregation.

Yahoo News excerpt:

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - A Baptist pastor accused of threatening to banish from his church anyone who didn't vote for President Bush has chosen to depart, saying he spoke out on candidates' stances but did not make political endorsements.

The Rev. Chan Chandler, 33, walked out of the East Waynesville Baptist Church, which he had led for three years, after delivering a brief statement of resignation Tuesday night. With him went many of the young congregants he had attracted to the modest brick church on the outskirts of this small mountain town in western North Carolina.

In an interview with a church publication Tuesday, Chandler denied endorsing any candidate from the pulpit, as critics had charged. "I don't know how these folks voted," he told Baptist Press, a Nashville, Tenn.-based media arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. "And I never endorsed any candidate."

But he acknowledged citing from the pulpit what he believes are the "unbiblical values" of some political hopefuls. "But those were negative endorsements never a positive endorsement" of any candidate, he said.

Excuse me, but isn't a negative endorsement for one candidate a positive one for their opponent in a two-person race? Let's see how the weasel tries to explain himself, but only ends up digging himself a deeper hole:

Chandler admitted in the interview that he cited Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's views on abortion and homosexuality in one sermon. He said he also mentioned two Republicans whose views he said were out of step with the Bible. He was not more specific, and stressed that his sermons were issue-oriented and not based on party affiliation. "This never has been about politics," Chandler said. "It's always been about whether the Bible applies to the entire life of a Christian."

Some church members had said that they were told to leave if they voted for Kerry.

Gee, that sounds not only like he took a firm position, but that he made it an ultimatum to his parish. Way to go Mr. Complete Lack Of Subtlety Guy, you're a Real American Hero...

"For me to remain now would only cause more hurt for me and my family," Chandler said to the church members. "I am resigning with gratitude in my heart for all of you, particularly those of you who love me and my family."

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050511/ap_on_re_us/church_politics

Translation: The people who really run things behind the scenes of this church got scared when they saw the beating they were taking in the press and threw Chandler under the bus. Why else would a man of such "strong convictions" surrender as easily as Harry Reid? Maybe the church trustees realized that their precious tax-exempt status would be in jeopardy if this buffoon had been permitted to stay. But wait, there's more:

Maxine Osborne, 70, and among those who stayed behind, had a different view of what had transpired. "A lot of these young people had not been in the church more than a year," she said. The Chandlers "brought in a lot of young people, but they also brainwashed them."

Tensions had escalated last week, when several members said Chandler called a meeting of the church's board of deacons and declared his intention for East Waynesville to become a politically active church. Anyone who did not like that direction was free to leave, Chandler said a statement that caused nine members to walk out.

Many of those who opposed Chandler's leadership said they agreed with the pastor's positions on abortion and other topics, but disliked linking those beliefs to specific political positions and candidates.

"If we wanted politics, we would stay home and watch it 24 hours a day on TV," said Charles Gaddy, 70. "I like Chan. He can preach a good sermon. I just wish he would keep some things out of the church."

Amen to that last line. Additional thanks go to Senior Correspondents Em Jeigh and Ken Kanniff. Your help in pointing this story my way, and your analysis is greatly appreciated.


Stray Pilot Causes Mass Evacuation In D.C.

The headline says it all. Yahoo News excerpt:

WASHINGTON - A small plane strayed within three miles of the White House on Wednesday, leading to frantic evacuation of the Executive Mansion and the Capitol with military jets scrambling to intercept the aircraft and firing flares to steer it away. A pilot and student pilot, en route from Pennsylvania to an air show in North Carolina, were taken into custody after their flight sparked a frenzy of activity that tested the capital's post-Sept. 11 response system.

The government decided not to press charges after interviewing the men and determining the incident was an accident. "They were navigating by sight and were lost," said Justice Department spokesman Kevin Madden.

Officials had been concerned because the plane appeared to be "on a straight-in shot toward the center of the Washington area," said Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer.

The White House raised its threat level to red the highest for eight minutes, said spokesman Scott McClellan. scare as it was occurring. His security detail knew of the raised threat level. At the Capitol, lawmakers, tourists and reporters raced out of the building, dodging the speeding motorcades of Latin American leaders who had been meeting with members of Congress. At the Supreme Court, guards told some people to leave the building while others were shepherded into the underground parking garage. At Treasury, an announcement on the loudspeaker advised employees to move to a shelter.

The Defense and State departments were exceptions, with neither evacuated. City government buildings also weren't evacuated. Mayor Anthony Williams complained that city officials weren't told about the threat until the all-clear was sounded. "Critical and potentially life-or-death information about threats facing district residents needs to be shared immediately not five, 10 or 15 minutes after the fact," Williams said.

The incident began at 11:28 a.m., when Federal Aviation Administration radar picked up the aircraft, a small two-seater Cessna 152 with high wings. Gainer said the first alert went out when the plane was 21 miles 17 minutes from the city. One Black Hawk helicopter and one Citation jet were dispatched at 11:47 a.m. from Reagan National Airport. Two F-16 jet fighters, scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base, fired four warning flares when the Cessna's pilot did not respond to radio calls.

"If he wouldn't have responded, intentionally or not, he could have been shot down," said Master Sgt. John Tomassi of the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo. The plane then turned to the west and the warplanes escorted it to the airport in Frederick, Md., where the men aboard were taken into custody and questioned by Secret Service, FBI and local authorities.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050512/ap_on_go_pr_wh/capital_alert

I purposely waited a while before attempting to tackle this, because things could have turned extremely ugly in so many ways. Some people with whom I work expressed dismay that this craft was not shot down once it had breached the airspace above the city, but I'd like to think that the pursuing pilots had sufficient training to determine that this plane wasn't a threat. We will probably hear and see more information about this in the coming days, but for now we should be happy that things didn't get nasty.


Red Sox Sweep Athletics. More 9th Inning Dramatics.

The Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics for the second straight day with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. Yesterday's hero was Kevin Millar whose homer gave the Sox a 3-2 victory. Today it was Jason Varitek who provided the last-minute heroics in the Sox 6-5 victory.

Today's victory was a strange one because, nursing a 4-1 lead in top of the ninth, Sox closer Keith Foulke surrendered four runs and the lead to inadvertantly set the stage for Varitek's dramatic shot. Yesterday, the Sox simply couldn't score until late.

Lost in the mix was the fact that two excellent pitching performances went into the books as no decisions for starters Bronson "Don't Call Me Brandon" Arroyo and Matt Clement. Both guys combined for 14 innings and two runs allowed.

Keith Foulke has been erratic thus far and must straighten things out because it seems extremely unlikely that we can continue to depend on somebody slugging a late homer every game to save the day.

On the plus side, Manny Ramirez hit a homer today, showing no ill effects from his beaning Monday night. Kevin Millar hit homers Monday and Tuesday and seems to be getting hot. Johnny Damon remains red hot and now has a 17-game hitting streak. The team travels to Seatlle next for a weekend series against the Mariners who got crushed by the damned Yankees and the red-hot Tino Martinez (homers in five straight games--all Yankee wins). And who plays the Yanks next? The stumbling A's. But let's not forget the AL East-leading Orioles who beat the Twins today. It looks like we may have a three-team race now that the Yankees are waking up...

Kerry Voters To Be Excommunicated? Cheney Remains Untouchable.

Well, God DID Choose Bush To Be President, Didn't HE?

Our first story of the day deals with the continuing efforts of the extreme right to eliminate what few barriers remain between church and state.

ABC News excerpt:

WAYNESVILLE, N.C., May 9, 2005 For many residents of this hamlet nestled in the Smoky Mountains, nothing is as important as church. That's why nine longtime members of East Waynesville Baptist Church are so devastated after being kicked out of the congregation for, they say, supporting Democrat John Kerry's presidential bid. They say the Rev. Chan Chandler led a charge to boot them from the church because they supported the Massachusetts senator's 2004 campaign.

Edith Nichols, who was ousted from the congregation along with her husband, said the pastor's instructions were clear: "Those that did not support Bush needed to leave, that they were sinners that believed in abortion and all the wrong things."

Lewis Inman, a deacon for 20 years, said being thrown out of his church was worse than when he was laid off from his job of 30 years. "I'm very, very sad. This has been our church home, our church family," Inman said, his voice trembling. "It's the only church I've ever been in."

Chandler would not speak on the record to ABC News. But in an audiotape of a sermon from last October, he said God had urged him to endorse President Bush as the only truly Christian candidate.

"Now, friend, you know and I know abortion is wrong, there's no way around it. But the question then comes in, in the Baptist Church, how do I vote? Let me just say this right now: If you vote for John Kerry this year, you need to repent or resign," Chandler said on the tape, obtained from the church library by ABC affiliate WLOS in Asheville.

"You have been holding back God's church way too long," he said on the tape. "And I know I may get in trouble for saying that, but just pour it on."

Full story: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Politics/story?id=742265&page=1

It seems that the IRS should go after Rev. Chandler and remove the tax-exempt status his church enjoys. Not that there is a chance that anything like that will ever happen to a Bush-friendly member of the clergy. I feel sad for people like Mr. Inman. The poor man has apparently led most of his life to please the church, as the quote in the excerpt suggests, and he had the naivete to think he could vote for someone like John Kerry to be President without his pastor putting the fork to him. Maybe the idiots in Kansas who want to eliminate evolution from their public schools are right, at least in Rev. Chandler's case anyway.


The "Because We Say So" Defense Holds Up

The federal courts have ruled that U.S. citizens are mere serfs, and that the wise leadership of President Bungler and Vice-President Potty Mouth is not to be questioned. This story, from Yahoo News, details the latest failed lawsuit filed against the Veep that attempted to get him to spill the beans about how much of a stooge he was for the energy lobby.

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON - A lawsuit seeking to force Vice President Dick Cheney to reveal details about the energy policy task force he headed and the pro-industry recommendations it made was scuttled Tuesday by a federal appeals court.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously found that two private groups that sued Cheney failed to establish that the federal government had a legal duty to produce documents detailing the White House's contacts with business executives and lobbyists.
The lawsuit, filed by the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, alleged that energy industry officials effectively became members of the task force, while environmental groups and others were shut out of the meetings. It also argued that the task force was a federal advisory committee with an obligation to publicly disclose its operations.

The appeals court disagreed. "There is nothing to indicate that nonfederal employees had a right to vote on committee matters or exercise a veto over committee proposals," it said. The court ordered a lower court to dismiss the case.

Cheney's energy task force was not an advisory committee and "it follows that the government owed the plaintiffs no duty, let alone a clear and indisputable or compelling one," said the opinion by Judge A. Raymond Randolph.

Cheney's task force met for several months in 2001 and issued a report that favored opening more public lands to oil and gas drilling and proposed a range of other steps supported by industry. The recommendations formed the basis of the energy legislation now before Congress.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cheney_energy

Indeed. The same legislation that passed in the House of Representatives and that will soon be on review in the Senate. So why all the secrecy? And does anyone notice a pattern? The energy lobby writes energy legislation. The pharmaceutical lobby writes legislation that makes it nearly impossible to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. The banking industry writes legislation that allows credit card companies to gouge people more deeply than ever while making it nearly impossible to declare personal bankruptcy. How many more examples of this crap do we need to see before people wake up to the fact that this administration is the most corrupt we've ever had? What's next, the Foot Fetishist Liberation Front writing legislation demanding that people go barefoot all the time?

New Blog Name. Can't Afford To Get Sick? Leave New Hampshire... Harry Reid's New Favorite Position.

New Blog Name

I have decided to re-christen this blog. The main reason was because I was originally looking to call it something that would both make me look like a wise person and a smart-arse at the same time. If I Could Walk That Way seemed to have been lost on most of my seven readers (two of whom thought it was a reference to Aerosmith's "Walk This Way"), and, since I wasn't that hot about it in the first place, a change seemed in order.

I reached into the realm of Greek mythology by way of Homer's Odyssey for inspiration, and I found it in the form of Polyphemus, the cyclops who was blinded by Odysseus as the famed warrior attempted to make his way back to Ithaca after defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War.

But besides being what I hope is a somewhat clever hook, the imagery it conjured came to me after I'd decided on the change. The cyclops was a one-eyed giant. Once his eye was poked out he was blind. So it is with President Bush. He thinks he is a giant, and sees things only one way--his way. In this regard he is very similar to the lumbering Polyphemus, who, after having been blinded, stumbled around feeling his way about in confusion in a clumsy attempt to right the wrong done to him. Only in his case, he was truly injured. Bush just likes to trample all over the scenery causing catastrophic damage for his amusement.

Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. At least until what passes for additional inspiration occurs...


Can't Afford To Get Sick? Leave New Hampshire...

In a somewhat localized manifestation of the New Cruelty, we have a story about how New Hampshire is attempting to tighten it's fiscal belt by cutting Medicaid benefits to the poorest segment of that state's population.

Yahoo News excerpt:

CONCORD, N.H. - As states struggle to cut Medicaid costs, New Hampshire has proposed going further by making the poorest of the poor even families with no income at all contribute to their coverage.

No other state has ever gone so far. And even if the idea makes it through the Legislature, New Hampshire is going to need to federal approval. Under federal law, the very poorest do not have to pay anything for Medicaid coverage. Those making higher amounts pay premiums or other expenses on a sliding scale according to their income.

Under the New Hampshire proposal, families with no income would have to pay $10 a child per month, up to a maximum of $30. Families who have some income but are still in the lowest category would pay as much as $20 a month, for a maximum of $60.

The move would save the state roughly $12 million over the next two years in a nearly $9 billion state budget, or about one-tenth of 1 percent.

The New Hampshire House at first embraced premiums, but backed off. But the idea is still alive in the Senate.
Supporters of the proposal say tough fiscal times demand tough solutions. They argue that making the poor pay would make them thriftier health care consumers.

Excuse me, but what kind of brainless noise is that? How the hell can people with little or no money make "thrifty" bargains with health care providers?

But wait, it gets better:

"In order to balance the budget, you do all sorts of things to try to bring issues to the fore," said state Rep. Neal Kurk. "The problem is real. The solution we've come up with is probably not as good as it needs to be."

Translation: We'd like to do away with Medicaid altogether, but we don't think we can get away with anything quite that drastic. "The problem is real." Sure it is. It's just as real as the bullshit Bush is feeding everyone about the crisis with Social Security. The real irony here is that many Granite State residents probably voted for this knob Kurk, and most likely applaud his Uriah Heep impersonation, even at their own expense.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050509/ap_on_re_us/Medicaid_cuts


Harry Reid Bends Over Once Again

In a continuing saga of surrendering to the White House, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid showed once again that he is a scared little creep who deserves nothing but scorn and contempt.

Yahoo News excerpt:

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Monday offered the Democrats' support for one of President Bush's judicial nominees, former Senate lawyer Thomas Griffith, as a goodwill gesture in the confrontation over banning judicial filibusters.

"Let's take a step away from the precipice," Reid said. "Let's try cooperation, rather than confrontation, which seems to be the hallmark of what we've been doing here lately."

The offer came as President Bush and Senate Republicans renewed their pressure on Democrats to stop blocking some of his judicial nominees, four years to the day that the White House unveiled its first judicial picks.

"Each deserved a simple up-or-down vote by the entire Senate," Bush said in a statement, pointing out that two of his first nominees from 2001 Texas judge Priscilla Owen and North Carolina judge Terrence Boyle have yet to be approved by the Senate.

Griffith replaced a third, Hispanic lawyer Miguel Estrada, who withdrew his nomination for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' for the District of Columbia after Democrats filibustered his nomination for two years.

Griffith was the Senate's general counsel during President Clinton's impeachment and became Brigham Young University's general counsel in 2003.

Democrats are hoping Reid's offer will help persuade the dozen or so undecided Republicans that they should not support Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's call to ban judicial filibusters.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050509/ap_on_go_co/filibuster_fight

So Griffith was the Senate's general counsel during President Clinton's impeachment. What a convenient coincidence! That aside, Reid, and any other Democrat who goes along with this reach-around, ought to resign from the Senate by lunchtime tomorrow. Again, our only hope here is that some sane Republicans stand up and go against the grain here. Hey Harry, here's a news flash: You can't stand up for these ghouls, pretend that they could somehow pass for human, then cry in anguish as they conspire with the White House to make America an uglier, more brutal nation.

Pattycake Kremlin Style. Get Your Evolution While You Still Can. Red Sox Update.

Dubya Plays Pattycake With Putin

President Useless spent the weekend in Moscow kissing up to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a sickening display that made it look like the two were discussing ways to combat terror. Conveniently forgetting that Putin wants to sell missiles to Syria, Bush pretended that the Russian President is an ally in the war on terror and not just another KGB mercenary looking to make some money.

Excerpt from Yahoo news:

MOSCOW - Changing the tone from tough talk to friendship, President Bush and Vladimir Putin went out of their way to take a unified stand on Middle East peace and terrorism Sunday after sharp words in recent days about democratic backsliding and postwar Soviet domination.

A smiling Putin even put Bush behind the wheel of his prized 1956 Volga, a pristine white sedan, and let him take it for a spin around the grounds of his private compound 25 miles west of Moscow. Putin also kidded the president about Laura Bush's recent comedy routine. The happy picture of the two presidents summed up a theme that aides on both sides described — powerful leaders who have a strong relationship and can discuss their disagreements.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050508/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

The last sentence of that excerpt is a joke. Putin has played Bush for the fool everyone except for the idiots who voted for him knows he is. An even bigger joke is the pretense that democracy has flourished in Russia and the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. If the press felt like doing their jobs by reporting the actual news, rather than pretend that Bush is some kind of foreign policy genius, then maybe the electorate would wake up and see what a fraud this president really is.


Latest From The Kansas Dumbing Down Summit

A group of scientists is trying to be heard among the trolls who want to ban the teaching of evolution in Kansas public schools. Yahoo News excerpt:

TOPEKA, Kan. - Scientists have refused to participate in state Board of Education hearings this past week on how the theory of evolution should be treated in public schools, but they haven't exactly been silent.

About a dozen scientists, most from Kansas universities, spoke each day at news conferences after evolution critics testified before a board subcommittee. They expect to continue speaking out as the hearings wrap up on Thursday.
"They're in, they do their shtick, and they're out," said Keith Miller, a Kansas State University geologist. "I'm going to be here, and I'm not going to be quiet. We'll have the rest of our lives to make our points."

The scientists' boycott was led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Kansas Citizens for Science, which believe the hearings are rigged against the teaching of evolution.

Scientists said they don't see the need to cram their arguments into a few days of testimony, like out-of-state witnesses who were called by advocates of the "intelligent design" theory.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050508/ap_on_sc/kansas_evolution

What bugs me about this is that line about "having the rest of our lives to make our points". That may be true, but while you wait for the other side to develop the sense it needs to realize what a mistake it is making, untold legions of kids are going to get the academic Marsellus Wallace treatment. You guys must stand up and fight these religiously insane measures and send a clear message to their proponents that we live in the 21st century, not the 13th.


Two New Sox Debut. One Good, One Not So Good...

The Red Sox are now 18-13 on the season after having split a day-night doubleheader with the Seattle Mariners.

Game One featured a decent pitching performance by Jeremi Gonzalez, who pitched into the sixth inning having given up three runs. The Sox cuffed Seattle starter Joel Piniero around in the early innings, and the Sox bullpen preserved the lead for the 6-3 victory.

Game Two saw the Red Sox debut of pitcher, ex-Astro Wade Miller who pitched five strong innings. Miller gave up two runs and struck out six with good command and velocity. John Halama pitched a scoreless sixth and gave way to call-up Cla Meredith, making his major-league debut in the seventh. With a man on and two out, Meredith walked the first two hitters he faced before surrendering a grand slam to tall slugger Richie Sexson. Despite two doubles and a homer from David Ortiz, the Sox lost 6-4. The Oakland Athletics come to Fenway for a three game set Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

A few more words on the state of the Sox. The pitching has yet to fall apart despite the losses of David Wells and Curt Schilling to the DL. It's the bats that have been inconsistent. Manny Ramirez, who appeared to be getting hot a week ago, has fallen back into a funk. David Ortiz seems to be warming up. Johnny Damon is riding a 14-game hitting streak. Jason Varitek had a nine-game hitting streak snapped in the nightcap. The infield of Kevin Millar, Mark Bellhorn, Edgar Renteria and Bill Mueller has not been hitting well.

In addition, the Sox are playing a makeshift infield with Renteria day-to-day after having hurt his finger trying to lay down a bunt in Detroit. Ramon Vazquez has taken most of the playing time at shortstop since then, but he is visibly hobbled with leg injuries, and sat out the tonight's second game in favor of regular second baseman Mark Bellhorn. Bill Mueller has shifted from third base to second, and Kevin Youkilis, who has hit well since being recalled from Pawtucket has been manning third.

Since the Orioles lost to the Royals, the Sox are 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore in the AL East. All things considered, that isn't a terrible position in which to be.

The New Cruelty In Full Swing. Harry Reid Blows It Again. Mars Polar Lander Found?

Support Our Troops, Just Don't Bother Us With The Details

The following story comes to us by way of the AOL News AP wire. It's a sad example of self-important douchebags pretending to support the troops while punishing their family members here at home.

COLUMBUS, Ga. (May 7) - A high school student was suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a mobile phone call with his mother, a soldier serving in Iraq, school officials said. The 10-day suspension was issued because Kevin Francois was "defiant and disorderly'' and was imposed in lieu of an arrest, Spencer High School assistant principal Alfred Parham said.

The confrontation Wednesday began after the 17-year-old junior got a call at lunchtime from his mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, who left in January for a one-year tour with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion.
Mobile phones are allowed on campus but may not be used during school hours. When a teacher told him to hang up, he refused. He said he told the teacher, "This is my mom in Iraq. I'm not about to hang up on my mom.''
Parham said the teen's suspension was based on his reaction to the teacher's request. He said the teen used profanity when taken to the office.

"Kevin got defiant and disorderly,'' Parham said. "When a kid becomes out of control like that they can either be arrested or suspended for 10 days. Now being that his mother is in Iraq, we're not trying to cause her any undue hardship; he was suspended for 10 days.''

Full story: http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050506122709990004&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Well thanks a pantload Mr. Parham. That's really big of you. Not arresting a kid for talking on a cell phone to his mother who is serving in Iraq, and who probably doesn't get many chances to talk to her, qualifies you as a great humanitarian. This is shameful behavior on so many levels. This prinicipal and the teacher who complained should be the ones suspended for such a harsh overreaction.


Harry Reid Temporarily Grows A Pair. Said Pair Then Immediately Shrivels Back To Microscopic Size...

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid momentarily forgot his place when, during a high school civics forum, he called a spade a spade. But, as you will see from the excerpt below from AOL News, he quickly reverted back to his usual meek and submissive mode.

LAS VEGAS (May 7) - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called President Bush "a loser'' during a civics discussion with a group of teenagers at a high school on Friday.

"The man's father is a wonderful human being,'' Reid, D-Nev., told (lied to) students at Del Sol High School when asked about the president's policies. "I think this guy is a loser.''

Shortly after the event Reid called the White House to apologize (beg forgiveness), his spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. Reid spoke with Bush adviser Karl Rove, asking him to convey the apology to Bush, who was traveling in Europe.

The Nevada Democrat expressed (soiled himself with fear) "regret for the comments, that it was inappropriate,'' Hafen said. Reid was giving a late speech in Salt Lake City and was unavailable for comment, she said.

Hafen then helped Reid wipe himself clean, and brought him a change of clothes.

Full story: http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050506235309990008&ncid=NWS00010000000001


Lost And Found - Mars Division

The Mars Polar Lander, which vanished in 1999, has apparently been found. No word yet about how talks with the Martian insurgents are going...

Yahoo News excerpt:

Nearly six years after NASA's Mars Polar Lander vanished during a landing attempt on the Red Planet, a scientist said he had spotted what appeared to be wreckage of the spacecraft.

The observation came during a reexamination of grainy black-and-white images taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor, which searched for the probe with no success in 1999 and 2000.

"The observation of a single, small dot at the center of the disturbed location suggests that the vehicle remained more or less intact after its fall," wrote Michael Malin, president and chief scientist of the company that operates Global Surveyor's camera, Malin Space Science Systems of San Diego.

Malin makes his case in the July issue of Sky & Telescope magazine. A copy of his article was posted Thursday on the magazine's website.

The $165-million lander was headed for touchdown near Mars' south pole Dec. 3, 1999, when contact was lost. A NASA team concluded a rocket engine shut off too soon, causing the craft to plummet about 130 feet to almost certain destruction.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/scientistmayhavefoundremainsofmarslander

More, More, More... British Consulate Attacked. I Drag My Knuckles, Therefore I Aren't Evolved.

When Too Much Is Never Enough

Here we go again. The House of Representatives just bent over for President Bush to throw more money away in Iraq.
Excerpt:

WASHINGTON - The House easily approved another $82 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan on Thursday, a measure that includes sweeping immigration reforms and boosts the total spent on fighting terrorism since 2001 to beyond $300 billion. The vote was 368-58.

The Senate is to vote on the measure next week when it returns from a weeklong recess, and approval is expected.
The bulk of the money $75.9 billion is slated for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while $4.2 billion goes to foreign aid and other international relations programs worldwide.

The bill also includes uniform requirements for driver's licenses across states, toughens asylum laws, authorizes the completion of a fence across the California-Mexican border and provides money to hire more border security agents.

Both the Republican-controlled House and Senate had promised to "scrub" President Bush's request to cut spending for items that did not represent emergency spending needs. But the bill carries the same overall price tag that Bush proposed in February, and he gets most of what he sought.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050505/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq_spending

I thought that when President Bungler announced his intention to go to war, the cost of reconstruction would come from sales of oil that Halliburton would be pumping from the Iraqi oil wells. I have a question. Why, given the fact that Halliburton has been handed every piece of the "rebuilding" action in Iraq, and that it's gouging and financial mismanagement has become legendary, was the House of Representatives so eager to give the White House even MORE money to throw down the black hole that it has created?

Part of the answer may be, that tied to this legislation is a mindless piece of nonsense that will make anyone renewing a drivers license have to show at least 473 pieces of identification proving that they aren't A. A terrorist B. An illegal alien C. A non-registered sex offender (not applicable if you are a Catholic priest) D. A Martian E. Any, or all of the above. And since the gargoyles running the cathedral attached it to the measure, the bulk of which money is ostensibly going towards military operations (finally), it becomes impossible for many who oppose that part of the bill to reject it for fear of being labeled hostile to the troops. The irony in that is that the administration is solely responsible for sending those very troops into battle woefully underequipped. Well, nobody ever accused these bastards of not having chutzpah...


But We Really ARE Winning The War On Terror...

The British Consulate in New York City was attacked early this morning.

Excerpt:

NEW YORK - Two small makeshift grenades exploded early Thursday outside a building housing the British Consulate, just as Britons went to the polls in a national election. The blast caused minor damage and no injuries.

Authorities said they had no clear indication the consulate, which shares the building with several other tenants, was a target. The blasts blew out a glass panel at the building's entrance. Police were reviewing images shot by 17 security cameras at the building and other locations to try to identify possible suspects. One of the videos raised suspicions that one of the devices may have been thrown from across the street, police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The devices used in the attack were described as replica grenades, normally sold as novelty items, that were stuffed with gunpowder and lit with a fuse. "We don't know who the particular target was at this time," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "There were no threats or phone calls."

Kelly noted that left wing Jewish activists demonstrated last month against another building tenant a board member of Caterpillar Inc. over the bulldozing of Palestinian homes. A sponsor of the rally, Jewish Voice for Peace, "only engages in nonviolent activities period," spokeswoman Liat Weingart said.

The FBI and police questioned and released a Dutch analyst for the United Nations' who was lingering near the midtown Manhattan office building after the blasts. In London, a Foreign Office spokeswoman, asked whether British authorities believed the blast was terrorism-related, said only: "Investigations are ongoing."
"We're not speculating about whether it's connected to the election," she added.

Exit polls indicated that British citizens narrowly gave Prime Minister Tony Blair a third term in Thursday's election, despite public anger over the Iraq war.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050505/ap_on_re_us/consulate_explosion

Maybe now shouldn't be the time for me to state what I'm going to state, but here goes: I fully expect President Bungler and Vice President Go Fuck Yourself to use this attack to marshal even more arguments that will involve renewal of the Patriot Act and all the draconian measures that it includes. All in the guise of keeping Americans safe from terrorist attacks. Attacks such as the one that occurred this morning...


If A Knuckle Scrapes The Ground, And No Primates Are Around To Hear It, Does It Still Make A Sound?

The Kansas Stait Bored Uv Edyoukayshun began meeting today to discuss how best to cut evolution out of the discussion in their state's public schools.

Excerpt:

TOPEKA, Kan. - Eighty years after the first famed "Monkey Trial," a second one of sorts opened Thursday, giving critics of evolution a forum in which to attack the theory.

A State Board of Education subcommittee began four days of trial-like hearings on evolution, and witnesses were advocates of intelligent design, critics of evolution or both. The entire board plans to consider changes in June to standards that determine how Kansas students are tested on science.

The three board members presiding over the hearings are all conservative Republicans and receptive to criticism of evolution. Two of them, Kathy Martin, of Clay Center, and Connie Morris, of St. Francis, agreed several times with witnesses critical of evolution. "I was hoping this hearing would give me good, hard evidence that I could repeat," Morris said.

Gee, it couldn't be that this Morris character has an agenda now, could it?

Last year, the board asked a committee of educators to recommend changes but eventually received two competing proposals. One, the majority plan, would continue the existing policy of treating evolution as a key concept for students to learn. The other, the minority plan, suggests more criticism of evolution.

Some science groups and many scientists contend the board is being pushed to adopt language that would enshrine tenets of intelligent design in the standards even if that concept isn't mentioned by name. National and state organizations are boycotting the hearings, viewing them as rigged against evolution.

But intelligent design advocates say that's not true and argue that they're only trying to give students a more balanced view of evolution.

Evolution says species change over time and that such changes can lead to new species, giving different ones, such as man and apes, common ancestors. Intelligent design says some features of the natural world, because of their well-ordered complexities, are best explained by an intelligent cause.

The problem with this argument is simple: What is the intelligent cause these fanatics are so eager to promote? The real irony here is that the argument "evolution is only a theory that hasn't been 'proven'". Well, pardon me for asking the obvious question, but what is the proof that there was an intelligent designer behind this intelligent design?

There are all sorts of places one can turn to for information about evolution (and the divides within that community, for example: Darwinism versus Lamarckian evolution). There is a large body of knowledge, accumulated over many years of intense study of this subject, that made use of skills like observation, speculation, experimentation and repetition. Part of this study includes the numerous fossils that have led scientists to be able to draw a picture of what the early earth was like.

And yes, the intelligent design side has plenty of books giving its side of the story, mostly by lonely prophets whose stories are suspiciously similar (Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, Mithra to name but a few), but has far fewer pieces of evidence to suggest that they are closer to the truth than the evolutionists are. Might I politely suggest that they retire to a quiet library somewhere to study and get their collective shit together? That is unless they've closed all the libraries in Kansas as well...

Catch-up Time

Well, a lot has happened since I last blogged at youse all. Let's recap (in no particular order):

1. President Bush continued to lie to the American public when, in his Sunday night TV appearance he once again skirted the truth about social security and his role in keeping oil prices at an all time high. Specifically, the Bungler In Chief is still claiming, and the "liberal" press is still letting the excrement get away with saying that social security will be bankrupt by the year 2041 when anyone who can read the Congressional Budget Office report will find that their projections find that the program will remain solvent well past that date. Indeed, the program will continue to fully fund beneficiaries until the year 2052, and after that point, if the system is left alone, recipients will still get 74% of the benefits due. He never addressed the costs of transitioning from the current system to his private/personal fund fantasy (estimated to run anywhere from 5 to 15 trillion dollars over twenty years). And don't get me started on the hand-holding smirkfest our esteemed leader shared with the Saudi Crown Prince at the Crawford ranch...

2. Some dippy bitch in Georgia got cold feet as her wedding day approached and went on a walkabout (or a bus-about) to New Mexico. Sure thing Nancy Grace guaranteed that her fiance was responsible for her disappearance. No mention yet about what condiments Ms. Grace used to ease the taste of the words she had to eat (if indeed she has the good sense to ackshully eat them) when the reluctant bride re-emerged, safe and unsound.

3. A new type of dinosaur was found among some fossils in the Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation, in what is certain to make the flat-earthers in Kansas dig their heels in even further when they "debate" the merits of continuing to teach evolution in their state's public schools. Apparently a group of feathered, rotund, sickle-clawed creatures called Falcarius utahensis that date to 130 million years ago were found in a two-acre area of the formation. I'm not a professional paleontologist, but I recall several stories in recent times that make a case for some dinosaurs evolving feathers. These animals apparently took the path that led to today's birds, while others remained on the paths with which we are familiar (lizards, crocodiles, alligators, Komodo dragons, etc.). Anyway, I'm sure that a little thing like more evidence in support of evolution isn't going to let that stop the trolls on their quest to dumb down their own children.

4. A woman whom I interviewed for a position with my company back in late January was finally, and mercifully hired to provide local support to the North Ryde, NSW, Australia support center (ah the wonders of the corporate bureaucracy). I had the pleasure of having met her and several other impressive candidates during my three-week stay. She came here to the US corporate headquarters for a week of training, and goes to our Cork, Ireland support center for more of the same next week before heading back to Australia. The support center is located in the Macquarie University Technology Park on the sprawling Macquarie University campus. I'd like to thank the staff of the Stamford Grand Hotel on the corner of Epping and Herring Road for their hospitality to a yank on his first trip Down Under. And to Prabhat, Gordon, Malcolm, Alyson and Judith - it is still cold here in the Northeast!!!

North Ryde is about a 30-minute drive west of Sydney. In addition to the many fine individuals I met in the support center, I met a wide variety of people from all over the world. Sydney harbor is beautiful, and the area around Circular Quay bustles with activity. In the nearby Kings Cross section, there are plenty of places to go such as the Royal Botanical Garden, the Natural History Museum and a beautiful park in which to relax. I also managed to make it to the country to the Blue Hills, a scenic, rolling area of striking beauty which is a hikers paradise.

Apart from having to drive on the left side of the streets, and looking at an unfamiliar night sky (complete with the famed Southern Cross) I think I adapted quite well to the 85-90 degree temps during my short escape from the New England winter. I got to mingle with some of the locals over a few Victoria Bitters as we watched Lleyton Hewitt's unsuccessful run at the Australian Open, and saw a one-day cricket match that pitted the Aussies against Pakistan
(the score was something like 279-214 in favor of Australia if memory serves). All in all I had a terrific time and I hope to get back there again soon (not so subtle hint to the boss...).

5. The terrific Daily Howler web site has been beating the Thanksgiving stuffing out of Ann Coulter for most of the time I was away, and deservedly so. She is insane. I highly recommend checking out their recent posts that point out just what a cheap, vengeful hack she is. TIME magazine should be ashamed of themselves for devoting perfectly good cover space and the room to publish her idiotic rants.

6. Thanks to ken kaniff, Connecticut's most wanted gangsta, for commenting on my recent post about the newly enacted High Noon Law in Florida. Your criticism is noted and for the most part is vaild, but I stand by my assertion that we may yet see the kind of incidents that this law was not intended to encompass. But I hope I am wrong.