Everything Old Is New Again

Last night, the President reached back into the archives to pull out the "We need to go to war with Iraq because of 9/11" bit. I keep getting this nagging feeling that some kind of panel or other had come to the conclusion that Iraq had NO CONNECTION to the attacks of 9/11. But, you know, that was how many news cycles ago? I'm probably just remembering it wrong. More Victory Gin over here!

Better Still, Put Him A Room With This Guy

A writer to Daily Kos responds to the exploitation of 9/11 this week by two prominent Republicans. Amen.

Somebody Please Kick Karl Rove In The Sac

This vicious, conniving, dirty bastard should be forced to wear a clown suit every day of his life, and the general public allowed to throw pies at him whenever we wish. And I don't just mean plates filled with whipped cream. I'm talking hot, steaming, fresh-out-of-the-oven apple pies. One's that leave a bruise. Jackass jackass jackass, he needs a kick in the ball-bag by an FBI interrogator.

He's Not An Ideologue, He Just Hates Democrats

Edward Klein continues to flog his largely discredted book about Hillary, and landed on Hannity and Colmes last night (and on Hannity's radio show earlier in the day). Seems to me like the right isn't too pleased with all the innuendo Klein's dishing out. Read this.

You have to wonder, if even Sean Hannity doesn't want to get in on this, how far overboard can Klein have gone?

News Flash: Bill Frist Is A Huge Asshole

So, now that medical science has confirmed what ALMOST EVERYONE EXCEPT DR. SENATOR BILL FRIST, M.D. knew, he's decided everything's okely-dokely-do, and the case is closed. No mention of his unconscionable personal attacks on Michael Schiavo, not one word about the fact that his public (false) statements gave credibility to all the other politicians who decided to jump on the bandwagon (All of whom, btw, need to go to Michael Schiavo's home and apologize to him personally. And if I were Schiavo, I wouldn't answer the door). What we get from the Majority Leader is an "Okay, what's next?"

Frist needs to be shot out of a cannon. Or voted out of office and exposed for the craven piece of scum he is.

Was that a negative, partisan attack? Sorry.

No, I'm not.

p.s.- (1:41 PM) Why isn't there a link to the autopsy story on Drudge's website? He certainly liked to post about the Schiavo Case when it was happeneing...

In Which I Weep For This Country

Take a look at who's been nominated for Greatest American on the Discovery Channel website. We're talking about the All-Time best, as voted by viewers, and apparently, enough people came up with Tom F'ing Cruise to put him on the list. Oh and look, there's Madonna, and Mel Gibson, and hey, it's Tiger Woods and Brett Favre! Hey, who's that Franklin guy? What show was he on? Jimmy Carter? Did he ever set a box office record? Pfft.

Thanks, Discovery Channel viewers, for cheapening the lives and accomplishments of the people on that list that actually deserve the title.

This is a Patriot

Okay, I don't want to have to download the Hello Bloggerbot right, now, but as John Rogers reminds us, it's the 16th Anniversary of the Tiennanmen Square protests, and ever since then, I've compared every self-professed "Patriot" to the man in this photo. Just a guy in the crowd, who didn't like what he was seeing and did the only thing that he could about it. Sean Hannity can suck it, this is what a Patriot looks like.

Yech

Caught the first episode of the Summer's new hit reality show, Hit Me baby One more Time. Honestly, I was looking forward to the nostalgic kick of seeing all those bands from the 80's again. But what could have been a fun trip down memory lane turned out to be an hour long exercise in creepiness. Arrested Development aside, most of the acts have, shall we say, gained a shitload of weight. I swear to God, Mike Reno from Loverboy looked like he was choking on a ham sandwich the whole time he was singing "Working For the Weekend." I guess with all the money he made during the band's heyday, he could finally afford that third chin.

That said, I'm all ready to catch The Knack next week.

This Is Too Much Fun

You can now make your own magneto-ribbon to smugly display on your gas-guzzling vehicle! Even if you don't actually buy one, it's just fun to come up with the slogans:

Like this

and this

and this

Now you try it!

Okay, We Can All Agree That This Is Bad, Right? Right?

I know Newsweek made the whole thing up about anyone doing anything bad to or around detainees in our Glorious War On Terror, because Scott McClellan is an honorable man, and would never try to mislead the American Public like that. So that's why I find this story a bit troubling. Check out this telling paragraph right here:

Several hours passed before an emergency room doctor finally saw Mr. Dilawar. By
then he was dead, his body beginning to stiffen. It would be many months before
Army investigators learned a final horrific detail: Most of the interrogators
had believed Mr. Dilawar was an innocent man who simply drove his taxi past the
American base at the wrong time.

Most of the interrogators. Do you know what that means? That means they knew he probably didn't know anything, and they killed him anyway. I can't wait to hear what the Conservo-blogs have to say about it. I'm sure they'll want to take time out from condemning Newsweek for a poorly sourced story about other cases of prisoner abuse to speak out against this. And by this, I of course mean the fact that someone decided to tell about it, not that it happened. Wank away, Freepers.

Go Buy A Book

More specifically, this book. Larry Kirwan, for those who don't know, is the leader/lead singer of Black 47 (who will be in Boston next month at the spankin' new Paddy O's). I've been a fan of theirs since college (which was, like, a wicked long time ago), and I went on the band's tour of Ireland last November, which was a blast. The back jacket describes the book as a "Rock 'N' Roll 'Angela's Ashes,'" which is understandable, but I think it's also in the tradition of "Confessions of an Irish Rebel" as well. Whatever you want to compare it to, it's a great read, and Larry's is a terrific storyteller. And if you ever meet him, ask him about room 520 (or maybe it was 109?) at the Tower Hotel in Derry.

I'd Like To Solve The Puzzle, Pat

Sajak uses his thinky thing, or at least tries to. What I love about his "columns" is that they are almost entirely anecdotal, with virtually no direct quotes or backup whatsoever. How can you possibly argue with a guy who wont tell you exactly who or what he's talking about? Genius!

Good Lord

A Baptist church in North Carolina has now kicked out it's Democrat members. A church that, I'm sure, enjoys the usual tax-exempt status from the IRS. This world is going bat-shit crazy.

Memo To Rush Limbaugh: You Can Shut Up Now

Al Gore finally gets props for his involvement in the development of the internet.

Tell Me Again How Soccer Is A Sport For Sissies

Say what you want about soccer, but no one's throwing explosives at Tom Brady.

Cal Thomas Is Out Of His Goddamn Mind

Is he seriously suggesting that we take a lesson from a fictional TV show in the pursuit of global terrorists?!?

Oh, and while we're at it, exactly how are things going with all that information we got by torturing people who, it turns out, weren't actually terrorists? We must be really close to wrapping this whole Iraq thing up, huh?

From The "No Publicity Is Bad Publicity" Department:

At least Denny's is consistent.

Lot's Going On, Nothing To Say

Actually, I have a lot to say, but there are so many things going on in the country and the world, and I do have to block out some time for making a living, I get a little overwhelmed about what I want to say regarding things like judicial fillibusters and the new pope. One thing I did come across (via Tom Tomorrow's website), is this peice from the LA Times, about the hijacking of Christianity by the Republican party. The writer makes a lot of good point, but I think some of the responsibility for this situation has to lie with the left as well, for letting the right get away with it.

Lying In The Age Of Video

Remember Alan Dershowitz talking about "Testilying" a few years back? Remember how outraged people got at him, daring to suggest that police officers might not tell the truth on the stand all the time? So how could this have possibly happened? Here's the scary part:

For Mr. Kyne and 400 others arrested that week, video recordings provided evidence that they had not committed a crime or that the charges against them could not be proved, according to defense lawyers and prosecutors.

Oh, and this too:

Seven months after the convention at Madison Square Garden, criminal charges have fallen against all but a handful of people arrested that week. Of the 1,670 cases that have run their full course, 91 percent ended with the charges dismissed or with a verdict of not guilty after trial. Many were dropped without any finding of wrongdoing, but also without any serious inquiry into the circumstances of the arrests, with the Manhattan district attorney's office agreeing that the cases should be "adjourned in contemplation of dismissal."

91%

Un-f%&*ing-believable.

I guess that American Hero status the NYPD has been enjoying the last couple of years is starting to wear off.

We Stand As One

Has anyone NOT seen this? Wow, even by Lee Greenwood/Toby Keith standards, it's a steaming pile of crap. I know a lot of people think it's a parody, but I was in radio for a long time, and we used to get stuff like this every day. This guy's disturbingly on the level.