Bob Geiger has the Saturday cartoons as usual.

Fun-knee

Go check out my main man Stark and his CPAC pictures (they are hysterical, indeed, if only these idiots knew who they were snapping pictures with--and just wait until you see in the coming days what he got on tape at the Klanbake, I mean convention).

Then go read Taylor on Coulter. She gets it right as usual.

Flip - Flop - Romney retreats on gun control - Ex-governor woos Republican votes (Boston Globe)

Booom! - Ammo, Weapons, Tunnel Found in Home - NORCO, Calif. (March 2) - More than 1 million rounds of ammunition, a cache of weapons and a tunnel were found at a man's home after an explosive fire that forced a neighborhood evacuation, authorities said Friday.

Just sayin'

A quick search on Lexis-Nexis, using the search terms "Coulter and faggot" shows that only 1 newspaper (the LA Times) and UPI mentioned Coulter's slur so far. Hurray for the liberal MSM!!!

Criminal, lunch-upchucking, bigot Ann Coulter's goons just attacked someone at CPAC for questioning her. The guy's a conservative Christian.

No word on whether her Adam's Apple was also in on the assault.

If you're not convinced Rudy Giuliani is an unbelievably arrogant, self-centered, mean-spirited, jackass...well just read this.

UPDATE: Check out the horrendous comb over in the picure. It's the Giuliani Club For Men!

HAPPY SATURDAY!!!




Just had to share this picture taken by my good friend Cat. I will be updating this post as I go, but first off I have to announce that Mr Schecter will be representin' at CPAC today, and he will be joined by Mike of Calling All Wingnuts. If you have a minute, go check out Mikes' blog for some um, intersting things. (don't miss the comments, they are a treat!) Think there might be fun stories tonite?

Sigh. So Ann Coulter is once again generating headlines, as she called John Edwards a "faggot" at the CPAC convention. As everyone gets into a froth, Ann is laughing all the way to the bank. This stuff helps her sell books, and continues to get her publicity, which in turn gets her speaking gigs.

Now, we here at CliffSchecter.com could call her a tranny with an Adam's Apple so large it could clog a toilet. We could point at that as a childless single woman, she has far more in common with KD Lang than June Cleaver. We could mention that she reminds us of Olive Oil from the Popeye cartoons, though Olive wasn't a bilious skank. But that only stoops to her level, and does nothing.

No, the only way to change this is to make her toxic. We have to expose her as an attention seeking, vulgar bombthrower who has no place in politics, and to make sure that any viable candidate for any office has to repudiate her. We have to hunt down Mitt Romney, and have him disown her endorsement today, or tar him as intolerant.

We also have to get the Republican leadership to disown her comments. The Weekly Standard went after Arianna Huffington after some posters on her website cheered the attempt on the Vice-President's life. Now we ought to make The Weekly Standard, and every other so-called respectable Republican, repudiate Coulter and the CPAC crowd, which applauded. These aren't random anonymous posters to a website, this is a leading light of the conservative movement and the actual foot soldiers of the movement. If they don't condemn Coulter and CPAC, aren't they just hypocrites?

ALert! Alert!!

First off, I want to say that it is ultra coolio to be part of this blog. Thanks to BC and Mike for letting me sexually harrass ... um, I mean "enjoinder in light banter" with them. Erhum.

And of course, none of us weenies would be here without the great and glorious Cliff!! Take a bow!!

Things are really taking off. We hit 7k in one day last week, and for a blog that has only gone big time just over a month ago, that really rocks.

We have advertising!! Right now, they are directly under Cliffs' pic on the right, but soon they will be moving. Please, in that we are brand new with the service, click thru and check them out. Every click counts!!

We have Amazon reccomendations. Cliff specifically picked out these books as being top notch reads. If you are heading over to Amazon for gift giving or your own erudation, please consider using the links. Cliff gets credit for your click!!

Links to all things Cliff Schecter are on the right hand. We have articles about Cliff, archives of Young Turks appearances, a description of his upcoming book and other goodies. Go check them out.

Old stuff- Don't forget the RSS feed, DIGG, Delicious, and Spotlight. Any questions about this stuff, ask in the comments and I'll try and help.

Reminder- you guys don't need any of us to chat amongst yourselves on gabbly.
You can register at www.gabbly.com or just go to http://gabbly.com/www.cliffschecter.blogspot.com and use it as an anonymous user.
I will be on this evening on and off just for kicks.

Wacky Friday

Ok, new feature. I'm going to look through the most inane news of the week and find what I think to be among the silliest stories of the past seven days. It also has to have the benefit of being funny.

And...We've got a winner!

SANTA FE — New Mexico is taking its fight against drunken driving to men's restrooms around the state.

The state has ordered 500 talking urinal cakes that will deliver a recorded anti-DWI message to bar and restaurant patrons who make one last pit stop before getting behind the wheel.

'Hey there, big guy. Having a few drinks?' a female voice says a few seconds after an approaching male sets off a motion sensor in the device. 'It's time to call a cab or ask a sober friend for a ride home.'

Ahh, if only they had had these when George W. was on the road.

I am sure the janitorial staff in these bathrooms is pretty psyched too. How many truckers named Billy Bob Bill are going to get a bit too excited by that sexy bowl-residing vixen on that long lonely trip and, how shall we say it, spill their cargo before reaching its intended destination (I know BC would)?

Hell, N.M. Senator Pete Domenici might propose.

Andrew Sullivan tipped me off to a poll on rightwingnews.com. It's a sample of 63 conservative blogs, and they were asked a series of questions. Here are some of their answers.

1) Do you think the surge should go forward?
Yes (61) -- 97% No (2) -- 3%

2) Do you think that a majority of Democrats in Congress would like to see us lose in Iraq for political reasons?
Yes (53)-- 84% No (10) -- 16%

3) Do you believe that the wall on the border will ever actually be completed?
Yes (6) -- 10% No (56) -- 90%

4) Do you think mankind is the primary cause of global warming?
Yes (0) -- 0% No (59) -- 100%

Now, I readily admit I have no idea who most of these goofballs are, nor have I read much of their rantings. Then again, I never read much LaRouche literature yet I was still able to figure out he was batshit crazy.

Can these people seriously represent the thinking of the far right? These are the kinds of people who cheered as folks were burned at the stake, dunked witches at Salem and opposed teaching Darwin at the Scopes trial. If we do not beat them, they will continually drag our country backwards.

Go read this statement by Rocky Anderson up at Kos on impeachment. It is erudite, convincing and passionate. It might just change your mind or reinforce what you are already thinking.

And even if you disagree with Rocky, which I also understand (I am torn, to be quite honest) you'll have a hard time convincing me that he isn't the most impressive mayor in America right now. From Salk Lake City. Who would have thunk it (and that is no slight to the city, just the political leanings of the larger state in which it happens to reside).

The Weekly Worst In McCain Pandering

John McCain was at it again this week, trying to flip-flop his way into the hearts of conservatives everywhere. We, at The Real McCain, feel it is our duty to keep track for you:

* It seems McCain screwed up by not accepting an invitation to that collection of loons known as CPAC. Conservatives are rightfully pissed. Isn't he trying to be their boy? I would guess he wanted to miss Ann Coulter make her obligatory "raghead" remark this year, except of course, in classic McCain style, he publicly rejected their invite while trying to set up a private "reception."

They didn't fall for it: "It was a classical McCain move, dissing us by going behind our backs," said William J. Lauderback, executive vice president of the American Conservative Union.

* Remember how John McCain acted so tough with Dick Cheney a little while back. Well, it turns out, like the plastic sycophant he is, he ran up to Little Dickie to apologize for saying mean things. Now that's some straight talk!

* In a new poll, McCain is falling among those on the Christian Right, the very group he has recently traded in everything in which he believed (or didn't) to try desperately to connect with. It appears, much like the CPAC folks, they know a flip-flopper when they see one. Hell, they even like Rudy better (for the moment, anyway, that will change).

* "Obviously, I have to talk to you about the war in Iraq," he says somberly as the crowd quiets. "All of us — all of us — are frustrated. All of us are angry because of the mishandling of the war. All of us are saddened by the loss of our most precious asset, and that's American blood."

That was McCain at a campaign stop. I guess we are all saddened, just some of us not enough to stay consistent on our foreign policy beliefs and not agitate for more American kids to be sent into harm's way in a failed, trumped up war.

We'll be back next week!

RIP Arthur M. Schlesinger

I just want to take the time to mourn the passing of a true intellectual and cultural icon.

Arthur Schlesinger was not only a brilliant historian, but in the great tradition of learned folk back before the Right began its era of media domination, corporate cronyism at least on a level with the Coolidge and Harding Administrations and its purges (see Neocon nutcase David Horowitz, who is a self-hating loser whether he's lining up with Lenin or Libby), he was a brilliant social commentator.

Looking at what he contributed to our country, is worth it not only as an intellectual exercise, but to show how far we have gotten away from the healthy political system we enjoyed when he was doing his best work.

I will never look back at the 1950s and early 1960s with nostalgia, with Jim Crow stretching its wretched tentacles throughout the South, women shut out of the best jobs, etc. Yet, before the Right made it heresy for journalists, academics, scientists et al to tell you that the sky is indeed blue and the far right are hate-filled lunatics, along with Richard Hofstadter, Daniel Bell and myriad other great ones, Schlesinger was filling the role of using his perch for the public good.

He was a historian, but through his work he made his opinions known (particularly by taking a job working for JFK). He decried the far left and the far right in books like The Age of Jackson (one of the best political history books I have ever read) and The Vital Center. That is because, and this is hard for folks even of my generation to believe (that would be Gen X), back in that time, "liberals" like Schlesinger were the moderates, pursuing a progressive course towards social justice, a populist one in economics and a humane one in foreign policy (yes, there were exceptions to this rule, before you all write in to me about racism or coups in Iran and Guatamala--but I am looking big picture here, compared to today).

Liberals, or those in favor of rational, open, non-ideological policy, were in power throughout our culture (and we were the better for it in virtually every way--see Iraq, the current budget deficit, George W. Bush and Tom DeLay's mugshot). They sought to improve the human condition, not amass wealth, proselytize and fight endless wars no matter the damage to the public good.

To use an example, Ned Lamont, would have fit perfectly into this moderate, liberal spirit. Joe Lieberman would have been considered an out-of-bounds, right-wing crank who would have been belittled, as was Barry Goldwater (who saw much of the light later in life) and The John Birch Society. That in itself should tell you how far we have gone backwards in our political culture.

We will never see another Schlesinger, but hopefully the political and policy spirit of the man and his times will rise again.

Irony of the Day

GOP Sen. Don Nickles on Clinton, 1998: "In my opinion, President Clinton is guilty of perjury. He is guilty of obstruction of justice."

Nickles now serves on the Libby Defense Board.

Update.... Ooops, spoke too soon
Huffington Post

Conservative Bush-Bashing Convention
Posted March 1, 2007 01:55 PM

WASHINGTON - Except for the low-heeled pumps, this could almost be a Netroots convention. Well, that and guys handing out Brownback bumper stickers.

Still, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that began this morning is a three-day extravaganza of activism in which purists, not pragmatists, are on parade -- and they are busy bashing the president.

"We cannot afford to be 'Bush Republicans,'" Phyllis Schlafly said, to great applause, in the vast Omni Hotel's largest ballroom. "This has got to be a grassroots party," and works best as such, as when "the whole conservative movement rose up to tell George Bush that we could not have Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court."

She was incensed, she said, that that George Bush had made such a big deal of signing the bill into law that would provide for a fence along part of the border between the countries: "Was that dishonest? I've been looking at TV every night and haven't seen that fence being built yet. We want that fence!"

(snip) "I wish the Republicans paid as much attention to the conservative philosophy as Democrats do to Left."

Phyllis Schlafly, scaring more little children than the boogeyman since 1910!!!!

The kind folks at BlogPac have an ongoing series going called Blogpac Netroots Hero, for which they choose a member of the Netroots every week.

This week, your humble author was chosen. They are too kind. I would have named the award BlogPac Netroots Scmuck, at least this week as they chose me. But, hey, what can you do?

It's a way-too-kind writeup, so go read it if you want to think I am a better person than I am :)

The Ugly Starts Early Even For Republicans

Anonymous critics aim at Romney

Anonymous mailings critical of GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, on the eve of what has become an all-important Spartanburg straw poll, have raised the specter of a long, nasty battle between now and the 2008 S.C. Republican primary.
One of the pieces was sent via U.S. mail Monday to several Spartanburg County Republicans. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The State, is a six-page attack on Romney’s record on abortion, gun control, taxes and “conservative values.”

(snip)
The e-mail is headlined: “Mitt Romney has a family secret he doesn’t want you to know.”

It says: “Those dark suspicions you hide deep inside yourself about Mormonism are trying to tell you something. Trust your instincts! æ.æ.æ. The light of truth will burn through the smoke and mirrors of Mitt Romney’s movie star looks and crafty words!”

The e-mail includes a copy of a recent Associated Press story about how Romney’s ancestors practiced polygamy.

See, no matter how much they natter on about wanting a "Person of Faith" IT IS NOT TRUE. What they want is "A PERSON OF THE RIGHT Faith*".

*White Evangelical Conservative Waiting For The End Times in Tim LaHayes' Bomb Shelter

Psychic Atrios

"People of Faith," despite its general acceptance as an inclusive term, is actually an exclusionary one, not just against nonbelievers like myself, but also against other non-dominant religions in which the concept of "faith," while usually present in some form, doesn't play a central role. (snip)
Romney's going to find out that it's not important whether you're a "person of faith." What's important is that you're a person of the right faith.

Hating unions is more important than protecting Americans from terrorists.

Yes, another sickening example of Republican America.

Sometimes it's fun to right clever lead ins to posts. Other times, the material can speak for itself. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Mitch McConnell, hypocrite (from April 2005 interview with Larry Kudlow).

KUDLOW: But before we break, we're going to come back with you, sir. Before we break, I just want to roll back. Why did Mr. Reid change his mind? You're saying a few years ago, he believed all judges deserved a vote. Why has he suddenly changed his mind? It wouldn't have anything to do with partisan politics, would it?
Sen. McCONNELL: Well, I think they're having a difficult time adjusting to last November's election ... I mean, after all, the president won ... We gained four seats in the Senate. People expect us to be able to govern. And...
KUDLOW: So this is a strategy and it's gone beyond judges. It's going to go into tax cuts and energy and ANWR and John Bolton in the UN. This is just a strategy as though there were no election last November. Isn't that basically what's going on here?
Sen. McCONNELL: Well, that's part of it, and, you know, I think it's important for them to remember that obstructionism was a big issue that helped us get the Senate back in `02...
KUDLOW: Indeed.
Sen. McCONNELL: ...and a big issue last year...
KUDLOW: Right.
Sen. McCONNELL: ...that helped us expand our majority. I don't think obstructionism sells very well to the American people. It's not a great political tactic in my judgment.

Bob Geiger has the goods on the new "scumbag" The Bush Administration is trying to install in Belgium as our Ambassador. He was a Swift Boat Funder:

But what's especially interesting is that if you really look under the hood of where this guy's political heart is at, you find that in late 2004 he gave $50,000 to no less solid citizens than the Swift Boat Liars who made it their mission to discredit a highly-decorated Vietnam Veteran in John Kerry.

This is another chance for Dems to show they have an actual spine. Sink the bastard.

I was sickened when a man who spent the 90s sliming his way through "the Arkansas Project" to get President Clinton impeached was confirmed as Solicitor General. Would the GOP ever allow that to happen?

There are many other examples of this, sadly.

Well, here is another chance to prove you won't take this crap from the GOP anymore guys. There must be no smooth sailing for the swift boater. Maroon his ass on Skull Island.

Corporate Whores

As you can probably tell by the title, if you are looking for a polite post, go elsewhere right now.

This fucking story is maddening. It is appalling. It is sickening. And that this could happen in this country, while that fat pile of gelatinous goo known as our vice president rips Americans off millions with his reach-around friends at Haliburton, George W. Bush and his borderline retarded daughters never hold an honest job in their lives and the rest of the kleptocracy bleeds working people...well I had better stop before I go searching in the street for a random conservative to pummel.

Here is the story. A young boy in Maryland needed an $80 tooth extraction. His mother didn't have insurance, so he didn't get it. The bacteria spread to his brain. He DIED.

But hey, let's keep cutting taxes for rich dick Republicans who choke their girlfriends, try and molest children and invite gay prostitutes into the White House briefing room.

If this doesn't get you apoplectic, it should. This is not the America I believe in.

Cliff on Paula Zahn 2/22/07





AKA "Cliff vs Rush"

Read this and try not to laugh too hard:

In the Republican race, former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who recently made clear his intentions to seek the presidency, has expanded his lead over Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Giuliani holds a 2 to 1 advantage over McCain among Republicans, according to the poll, more than tripling his margin of a month ago.

The principal reason was a shift among white evangelical Protestants, who now clearly favor Giuliani over McCain. Giuliani is doing well among this group of Americans despite his support of abortion rights and gay rights, two issues of great importance to religious conservatives. McCain opposes abortion rights.

White evangelicals? For a Catholic Mayor of New York City who, as I like to remind my conservative friends: was living with a gay couple while he was getting a divorce from his second wife, a separation he announced to the media before he told her, and was cheating on her with his now third wife down the hall from where his kids were living in the mayor's mansion?

Ok. I am sure that Christian Right support will last. All people know about Rudy is 9/11. And the truth is even much different than the myth on that one too (nice move, after the 1993 World Trade Center attack, choosing that as your counterterrorist HQ).

My pal Howie Klein has more on Rudy's habit of cross-dressing.

One more note. I hope Robert Greenwald's and my efforts with The Real McCain have been responsible for some of McCain's crashing poll numbers, but Rudy is an even worse choice for the Right for the reasons stated. It's still McCain's--as he has all the Bush people and Establishment GOP support--unless Jeb gets into the race (but by the time we're done, McCain may not want it).

Remember when Republicans thought being obstructionist was a bad thing? Well, check out this comment by Sen. John "Boy that Box Turtle makes me hot" Cornyn in Roll Call (Sub. required)

“We have to give some flexibility to those in cycle in those states of
particular challenge,” Cornyn said. Referencing the GOP’s ability to block
Senate action, he added: “It’s nice to have all 49, but all we need is 41."

So, when the GOP was in control, filibustering was bad. So bad, they sought to outlaw it as a practice. But now that the GOP is in control, it's a legitimate practice of a minority party.

I'd question their intellectual honesty, but that's a bit like questioning Britney Spear's parenting skills.

Other views...


H/T fellow Bloosier John @ Left In Aboite for providing the pic for me to steal... erm, borrow.

Another Last Song for Dick Cheney


Dennis Prager gets the bell for using "Jew" the most times in one article, and making ABSOLUTELY no sense whatsoever. A recurring theme for him. (13 pages worth of recurring)

Not only do the staff of the Politico not seem to be able to differentiate between the letters "B C" and "C L I F F", they make RNC talking points up out of whole cloth, let paid political consultants lash out at enemies in the guise of "opinion" and the sole female reporter at the rag is in charge of the gossip section, eye-rollingly entitled "SHEnanigans".

I know I'm prone to be weepy, but this this devastated me.
Compassionate Conservatives my ass.

Not really sure what this means, but knowing Soros it could become interesting.

The Army Times

Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 13:37:17 EST

Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media.

“Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

RNC Platform- Punish the victims.

Oh, those silly Liebercrats....

What's better, one of the original sponsors of the act is disgraced Liebercrat Bill Finch.

On a more serious note, it looks like one of the first election laws that really target campaign bloggers, giving legal challengers what I'd imagine is a legal standing to force campaigns to disclose conversations they have with bloggers.

The text of the (proposed) law makes several references to those making web-based appeals for donations or advocating for or against specific candidates in "consultation with" any given campaign, which would seem to require some level of official disclosure from anyone commenting for or against candidates online, or posting a donation link.

Wish they'd come up with a vaccine against that kind of stupidity.

***Alert***
The always on target and dreamy Joe Conason on CSpan tomorrow (3/1) at 830a.
Civil Liberties? Why THANK you, I'd LOVE some!!!

Potentially excellent news.

Their Warner supports torture and Iraq (even if he's trying to back away from the latter now).

Our Warner balanced a budget way in the red when he took over, dealing with a Republican state legislature to do it. He won plaudits as one of the best governors in America at the time.

Their Warner go dumped by Liz Taylor.

Our Warner made millions as an entrepreneur.

I'll take our Warner.

Silver lining to global warming......

thawing brains now capable of rational thought?

Go read this great post by my friend Tula Connell of the AFL-CIO.

If you don't know about the HUGE vote coming up on The Employee Free Choice Act, Tula, writing at FDL, will fill you in.

Unions are the staple of a healthy democracy (see Solidarity Movement helping bring down Communism in Poland), they allowed this country to build the strongest middle class in the world during the golden years (1930s-1970s), before the idiocy of voodoo economics, deregulation and union-busting became the order of the day.

Just another thing that conservatives are too stupid to understand. Much like they have assaulted a truly free media, independent judiciary, academia and other institutions essential to a thriving republic, so the Right has made a mission of destroying unions.

This is our chance to move the ball back in the other direction again. It is good for democracy. Good for the Democratic Party. And good for working Americans. As I said, go read the piece on what is going on with this issue and what you can do to help this bill pass.

Oh yeah, and it will probably piss Rush off. And I want to continue my good week that way.

For a laugh (more a Nelson HA! from The Simpson's than real laughter), I was reading a sad piece of journalism on the website The Politico, which tried to convince people that Joe Lieberman is really a Democrat. Imagine my surprise when I read the following ...

Aides take cues from Lieberman's actions. He voted with Democrats 90 percent of the time before the November election -- a point he raised on the primary campaign trail -- and continues to hold that average in his first two months as an independent.
"If he was seriously thinking about becoming a Republican, the last thing he would do is propose a new tax," Gerstein said.
That's a war-on-terrorism tax, proposed early this month to ease the pressure that military budgets are placing on domestic programs. Hardened critics went squishy -- for about a half a second.
"This may come off as blasphemy, but I support the latest idea of Joe Lieberman," Democratic consultant Cliff Schecter wrote on his blog.(emphasis mine)

Couple of things wrong with that. First, anyone who reads or listens to Cliff knows he has nothing nice or "squishy" to say about Lieberman. Not to speak out of school, but my guess is Cliff would rather be gagged with Ann Coulter's Adam's Apple than say something nice about Joe Lieberman.

Second, Cliff didn't write the piece they quoted, I did. Look, I'm anonymous, not fucking invisible! If quoting someone is going to make your piece, shouldn't you at least make sure you got the quote attributed correctly? Is it too much to ask?

I'd ask Cliff to get a retraction from The Politico, but since nobody reads it, why bother. Did I mention they suck?

I don't think this necessarily portends anything bad for my marriage, but the island of Stromboli, which is off the main island of Sicily, blew up today. What does that have to do with me you ask?

I spent my honeymoon there.

The volcano is always active, but usually just spits up a bit, like Bush trying to ingest two pretzels simultaneously (btw did you see him try to bounce that flat basketball today...priceless).

In any case, it seems this time there is some real lava flow, and although I don't speak Italian, from what I can understand, many people are vacating the premises.

So assuming everyone is safe, and I am free to joke about it, let's just say I would still rather be there right now than be in Dick Cheney's entourage.

Thank God we are fighting them over there, so we can ignore them over there, and they can try and kill our leaders over there.

The Old Vice Ain't Got Nothing On the New Vice.....

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Republicans shocked at idea to block Navy from paying Cheney's power bill
Thursday, July 26, 2001

By CHARLES POPE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

WASHINGTON -- An "innocuous" attempt by Rep. Jay Inslee to block the Navy from paying the full electric bill at Vice President Dick Cheney's official residence ignited a searing debate yesterday on the House floor.

Although Inslee's amendment was defeated by a lopsided margin -- 285-141 -- it highlighted the passion and raw politics accompanying energy issues at a time when supplies are short and costs are high. It also foreshadowed what is likely to be a bruising debate next week when the House is expected to consider a broad energy bill.

In dollar terms, Democrat Inslee's amendment was inconsequential, affecting $186,000 out of a spending bill totaling $33 billion.

$186k electric bill.
Is that for the cable energy needed to jump start him every morning?

Houston to Dumb Dumb: we have a problem

Yesterday, NASA's James Hansen spoke at the National Press Club of the need to radically alter carbon emissions within ten years (giving us only a couple of years to come up with the course of action). Hansen said failure to act may put us past the tipping point and yield irreversible changes to our planet, little things like species extinction and the disappearance of polar ice/rising sea levels.

Given we've got dumb dumb in office for nearly two more years, we really can't afford to wait for the next Administration to come up with solutions. Yet, part of Bush's energy policy is exactly what we don't want:

Hansen emphasized that because of coal's high carbon content, we cannot burn more any more of it, and no additional coal burning plants should be built; he said it will become clear, unless new and affordable technology emerges, that we are only going to have to tear them down in a few years. (someone once said coal is to clean energy what a twinkie is to health food.)

Bush plans to burn more of it, which should come as no surprise given his close ties to the coal industry, and he has attempted to slash funding for cleaner coal technology. And he may not be getting as much flak from NASA; the Bush Administration cut that part of the NASA budget in mid-2006, retroactive to the beginning of the budget year, according to Hansen.

I wonder if the founding fathers pictured something like this: author Michael Crichton can give misleading climate change testimony to eager ears on the (Republican-led) Hill, but any scientifically based climate change news coming from say, the director of NASA's Goddard Space Institute, has to be vetted first by the White House.

There should be a legal price to pay for blatantly disregarding evidence and mismanaging citizens' (the US and the globe's) welfare.

Cheney Unhurt In Blast Outside Afgan Base


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan Tuesday during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, killing up to 23 people and wounding 20 more.

The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.

My Bad Paddy is beating the crap out of Good Paddy as I type.
....must not think evil thoughts.... must be gooood.....

It seems that my friend T-Rex over at FDL likes me, HE REALLY LIKES ME!

What he actually says about me is way too kind. The man is a killer. I mean, c'mon, his name is T-Rex! And as the Discovery Institute would tell you, when those dinosaurs were roaming the Earth alongside humans two thousand years ago, they were some mean bastards.

In any case, you should make T-Rex's nightly diatribes at FDL standard reading. He is easily one of the most talented writers in the blogosphere. I would go so far as to call his Jeremiads poetic.

And he doesn't suffer fools. Or Republicans. Yeah, I know, redundant.

I think we need a name for ass-kicking writers/acitivists/pundits in the spirit of "the Jim Webb" we give politicians here. I was thinking maybe "the Mike Stark." We'll see. Whatever it is, T-Rex would be one of the first recipients.

Apparently that serially-mendacious, perpetually-cranky, arterial blockage known as our vice president is such an embarassment even to his pals in this administration now, that they have removed links to radio interviews from the White House website.

I guess when you have a guy who simply makes things up all the time, that wouldn't be a bad idea.

A great idea, however, is to send him abroad on a diplomatic mission. Because nothing screams diplomacy like the sight of Shotgun Cheney entering the room.

The Paula Zahn Story

Ok, a number of you have asked what the experience was like. So here it is. I will preface by saying that for you to get an honest account I have to drop names, for which I apologize. I promise you, my son isn't impressed, and that's all that matters to me.

First of all, as many loyal readers know, I have done more than my fair share of television. Most major channels have featured my growling visage at one time or another. But this was different, as I usually sit in a dingy DC studio alone, with an earpiece in, talking to a metal object staring at me while hearing voices from afar.

So, similar to your basic night at Rush's place after a few grams of the white powder and the red pills (please attack me again Rush, please!).

In this case I was booked and offered a flight to New York, the town of my birth and upbringing, and was placed in the hotel where my grandparents were married. Which is now owned by The United Arab Emirates. No better metaphor for how times have changed.

I got on my plane on Thursday afternoon, only to bump into Congressman Anthony Weiner with my luggage. In my defense, he was blocking the aisle. And he did apologize. Various other familiar faces were sprinkled throughout the plane, I am sure some were other loyal representatives of ours.

I got to the hotel, and it is nicer than anything I could ever come close to affording. On Central Park South. Bathroom as big as my bedroom here (no, I am not exaggerating). So I settled in to watch some tv, and on New York's local news station, New York 1, there was Representative Weiner discussing a potential run for Mayor of New York City in three years. Some day I might be able to say I smacked the mayor with my luggage.

I read up on the CNN topic, hip-hop and mysoginy, which if you'll look at my photo on this blog, I am obviously the most qualified to discuss. Hey, I was a Run D.M.C fan.

I was taken over to the studio by a car, not bad service I must say, and sat in the lobby waiting to be ushered into the Green Room. An old grad school friend from Columbia passed by, who is a producer on Lou Dobbs' show, which was cool. We caught up. Then Lou himself walked by. I kept my views on immigration to myself (the man is right on when it comes to outsourcing however).

The Green Room had really good cookies. Damn they were good. And suddenly, I was on the show. I was a bit nervous, but not very. They were all really nice people, especially Paula herself. She was the nicest of any host I've had the pleasure of meeting.

All I had to do was make sure to look at the right camera when they introduced me, and from there, it was game on. I made my arguments, including insulting Rush Limbaugh for his blatant sexism. Rush seems a bit peeved at me for that (although he hasn't heard of me). The show ended.

I grabbed more cookies. Got a ride to a bar on the West Side of Manhattan (Rudy's, on 9th Ave between 44th and 45th, for those of you in the know), where I joined the crew of Drinking Liberally. Lots and lots of fun. One of the founders, Justin Krebs, was there (great guy). My pals Matt Browner-Hamlin of numerous blogs and the fantastic Elana Levin, the online guru behind the excellent Drum Major Institute, were there.

I met Phillip Anderson of The Albany Project, a great blog dedicated to eliminating the GOP in New York (taking their 6 House seats, all of which are vulnerable, and removing their control of the state senate by a few seats being the main goals). A goal I wholeheardtedly support. So go over and say hi to these guys. Oh, last but not least, I met Mark Steckel, creator of the Spotlight Project, which you can learn about by clicking on Spotlight icon below this post (very cool guy). And there were many others, who I hope I don't offend, as I can't name everyone (beer will do that to you).

I woke up in my plush hotel the next morning, and on the way out of the elevator, passed the person who was the 3rd runner up to perhaps being our incumbent president right now, former Senator Bill Bradley (ahhh, don't make me think about it).

And that folks, is my fun-filled trip. Hope I didn't leave anything out. And if I did, it's Rush Limbaugh's fault.

Coincidence?

I am at the courthouse where that Libby guy is being "judged," hanging out with Jane Hamsher in the media room, and the power just crashed. No, I am not kidding.

Wifi is up though!

So there are 25-30 reporters here (possibly more) typing away in the dark while they try and figure out why this courthouse is run like George Bush's Medicare prescirption drug program.

Excellent.

ABC News' The Note, a font of DC conventional wisdom, wrote that Democrats are losing the debate over changes in Iraq.

The overall Democratic strategic imperative remains the same — use public opinion to pressure enough Republicans to go to the President and demand a change — knowing that Democratic votes and voices alone won't do it. This strategy has run into a number of problems, however, both political and substantive. Okay: mostly political. Perhaps the Democrats, back in town this week and caucusing ferociously, will find a way to change the trajectory of the political debate, but they are losing fast.

This dreck embraces the Rovian view that every news cycle declares a winner. The problem, of course, is that this micro view misses the point. The macro view is more important, and it is - every day that the topic of discussion is Iraq is a good day for Democrats and a bad day for Republicans. If the 2008 elections are decided on Iraq, the Democrats will win, no matter what the newspapers, or ABC News for that matter, writes.

Joe Lieberman has to go. I don't care if they rewrite the CT constitution, the people of that state need to recall, recant and remove that jackass.

Apparently he's written (another) op-ed in the WSJ.

I appeal to my colleagues in Congress to step back and think carefully about what to do next. Instead of undermining Gen. Petraeus before he has been in Iraq for even a month, let us give him and his troops the time and support they need to succeed.

F**k Lieberman and his holy posturing and posing. Let him leave the party and go hook up with McCain for VP on a pseudo "bipartisan" ticket.

Glenn Greenwald, once again, puts the hammer to the nail and details Joe's various mendacities.....

The reason our mission in Iraq has proven to be so disastrous and corrupt is very simple -- the advocates and architects of that war are completely corrupt, inept, and deceitful. Recognizing this fact and ceasing to accord people like this with respect and credibility is infinitely more important than any specific debates over particular policy or strategic questions.

Everywhere Joe Lieberman goes, he should be asked by journalists why anyone should listen to anything he says, or believe anything he says, in light of his history of deceitful statements and tragically wrong assertions, beginning with his 2005 Op-Ed which today he completely repudiates while pretending he never said any of it.

Go read Glenn's smackdown. This guy has GOT TO GO.

Well this seems fair.

Especially when fat-ass Exxon guy retired with $400 million for gouging all of us.

Congrats to Al Gore!

(Somewhere in Hell, Rehnquist was voting for Bush).

Slavery Ties Sharpton to Thurmond. Too ... many ... jokes! Head ... going .. to ... explode ... from ... irony!

This pic is to go along with Cliffs' mention of the almost drooling article on the Gorestir- I haven't picked a candidate yet, but I lurve this picture!!!

Also, a great diary over at Daily Kos- Al Gore rescued Katrina victims Sep 2005 - AP makes you want to weep for the presidencey that COULD have been.

As much as I'm all for it (and no, this is not an endorsement if he does choose to do so), I don't know why this man would choose to run for the presidency.

Seriously....He's living larger than P Diddy (I learned that expression on the Paula Zahn show).

Andrew Sullivan praises Obama's video clip on the Iraq War from 2002. Just a few days late, Andrew. Good to see you agree, though.