Happy Thanksgiving!

A Little Wednesday Humor

Ganked this from the Disgruntled Chemist.

Enjoy. ,

Heavy Freakin’ Sigh

Pretty fried these days.

No class this week but in the infinite wisdom of my college professors, they laid out enough assignments that I have more homework and papers to write than I have had during any one week all semester! Thank Guys and Gals! Two take home tests (history-statistics), a bibliography (history), a long essay and a short essay (literature).

My mom is moving into her new digs and asked me to come over and move a ‘few’ boxes into the pod in her driveway. TWO full days later I’m not done and will be heading that way on Friday to try and finish it off. No help from the dysfunctional elements in the family, meaning I’m the only one helping mom. Sad, no?

Wrapping up my time at the current job, and preparing for the new one. Long story there but one that I will not bore the few people that have stumbled here and read this far.

An old flame has come back to haunt me, and that’s the best way I can put that.

So, I don’t juggle but have at least eight balls in the air. Come the end of January most of these things will settle down a bit and the actual moving down the road as opposed to just building it will commence. That’s not to say there won’t be more construction as we get down the road, that’s called life.

Enough about me, let’s talk about everybody else!

From the AP, on the 4th of November, all emphasis, and snark added, my comments in green:

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer Fri Nov 4,12:35 PM ET

President Bush's public support has eroded to its lowest level yet, with Iraq war dragging on, a top White House aide facing felony charges and the White House rushing to replace a failed Supreme Court nominee.
Ok, old news but pertinent.

Concerned that the president has lost his footing, some Republicans have suggested Bush should shake up his staff.
What clued them in? Why the concern now? Lost his footing? Where did he ever have footing?

A new AP-Ipsos poll found the president's approval rating was at 37 percent, compared with 39 percent a month ago. About 59 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved.
Remember, this was 18 days ago, he’s probably much more popular now!

The intensity of disapproval is the strongest to date, with 42 percent now saying they "strongly disapprove" of how Bush is handling his job — twice as many as the 20 percent who said they "strongly approve." Twenty percent strongly approve of Bush’s performance as president.
Obviously, twenty percent of Americans are meth addicts.

"This is the poorest excuse for a president this country has ever had," said Max Hollinberger, a businessman from Stanwood, Wash., who leans Democratic. He cited "the economy, going to war in Iraq for no reason, the way we can get to the tsunami victims before Katrina victims — the whole business."
Max is a Traitor! Liberal! Commie! Terrorist supporter!

A year after his re-election, Bush's second term has been marred by rising U.S. casualties in Iraq, a failed attempt to restructure Social Security, Hurricane Katrina missteps, rising fuel costs and his forced withdrawal of the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers.
Oh I see, so he really has lost his footing, because you know, he had such a firm grip on reality from the beginning.

In a case involving the public naming of a covert CIA operative married to an Iraq war critic, Vice President Dick Cheney's former aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, pleaded not guilty on Thursday in federal court to charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and lying to investigators. The case casts a continuing cloud over Cheney and keeps Bush's closest adviser, Karl Rove, in legal jeopardy.
Really? Hadn’t noticed. I'm too busy pretending that everything is going to be ok.

Republicans are starting to worry about the 2006 elections and hope Bush can reverse his slide.
“…starting to worry…” Man those Republicans are quick I tell ya!

Several senior Republicans who are close to the White House and Rove say there has been a lot of talk inside and outside the White House about the need for him to leave, but they're picking up no indication from him or his associates that it's going to happen — at least anytime soon.
Power, as long as they have it, they ain’t going away. HELLOOOOO!

Neither Bush nor Rove has seemed to get the message, the Republicans say.
No, they don’t seem to get the message, they seem intent on their agenda, they seem like crooks and liars, and that’s being nice.

Democrats have kept up the attack. "The 2006 midterm elections will be our next opportunity to change the environment of corruption and incompetence in Washington," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday in a fundraising letter to Democrats. Reid has called for Rove's resignation and a "thorough house cleaning" at the White House.
Partially agree here. The ‘attacks’ have been withering at best, so much so I would not call them attacks. Reid is correct as far as a house cleaning is concerned, but the Dems need to get on the offensive and come up with viable plans to counter the current debacle that Republicans seem to be ok with. Don’t kid yourself, the Republicans are ok that things are crap, as long as they are in charge of the crap. They make more crap and then say “we can fix the crap”. A minor example of that would be the Iraq war and Bush’s reelection. I heard so many Republicans say THEN that Bush started this war, he needs to finish it. Wow, now there’s a reason to vote! Geesh. How can you expect the guy that fucked everything up to fix it? Only in Republican bizzaro world does that make sense.

In the AP-Ipsos poll, nearly one in five Republicans disapproved of Bush's handling of his job, compared with nearly nine in 10 Democrats. Nearly seven in 10 independents disapproved.
Four in five Republicans still back the president.
DING! DING! DING! There it is people, think about that and then read the following:
"I think he's done a wonderful job," said Gloria Bloecher, a Republican from Sherman, Texas. "He's done wonderful things for the economy. He rescued people who needed help in Iraq — it was the Christian thing to do. I still trust his people and the people he picks for the Supreme Court."
I think we need 80 million more of these people in our country, whaddya say? Rescued people in Iraq, while killing about 20,000 plus? I’m just guessing this lady is one of those anti-abortion pro-death penalty people, after all, it’s the Christian thing to do.

The president has lost support from some key groups of constituents over the past year. He's dropped 16 points in his approval rating with men in that time, 18 points with people who have a high school education or less, 16 points among Southerners and 13 points among Republicans.
The poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 31-Nov. 2 among 1,006 adults nationwide. The margin on sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Look very close at those numbers and groups, read it, reread it, and read it again.
Congress isn't faring much better. In early October, 35 percent of poll respondents approved of the job being done on Capitol Hill, down from 44 percent in February.
In December 2004, soon after Bush's re-election, 51 percent approved of his handling of his job, while 47 disapproved, and 28 disapproved strongly. Speaks for itself.

"I'm surprised it's not even worse," GOP consultant Rich Galen said of Bush's latest poll numbers. He cited three months of unrelenting bad news that have Republicans "beginning to scratch their heads."
There it is again, they’re scratching their heads now. Ignorance is bliss, until it shows up at your doorstep demanding entry.

Away from Washington, Republican leaders seemed concerned about Bush's drift downward in the polls and about Iraq, where the 2,000th U.S. military death was recently recorded, and less troubled about the CIA-leak case and the controversy surrounding Rove and Libby.
“…seemed concerned…” But Santa…can’t you just get in the sleigh and fly around with your reindeer and drop presents on everybody?
"...less troubled..." Screw corruption! We have an election to win!

"I think the war in Iraq being on the front page every day has taken its toll," said Van Poole, former Florida GOP chairman and now a Tallahassee lobbyist, who expects Bush to bounce back. "Americans are impatient. Whatever our job is, Americans want us to get it done."
Well, here is some honesty from a fool. Smart enough to think that the Iraq war on the front page every day has taken it’s toll, but not smart enough to make the connection that this war should have never been pursued. He’s not bright enough to realize that Bush will not bounce back even if he is encased in some sort of super bouncy rubber suit, but he is smart enough to unknowingly admit what non-Republicans (ie: sane world) have seen from the beginning: “Whatever our job is…” They don’t know, it’s that simple. And, they are/were attempting to cram that “whatever” down America’s throat which has FINALLY begun to vomit it back up and out.

It’s not just Bush, it’s the whole cabal in the White House. Bush is just a stupid fool and tool being used by the subordinates in his administration. Those guys have played that dumb little frat boy since day one, with the larger intent of invading and controlling the middle east, and have dragged this great country along for the ride. It’s a great ride ain’t it? Enjoying the view? Apparently 4 out of 5 Republicans do, and I just cannot wrap my head around that completely without serious doubt about the thinking process, or rather the non-thinking process, by which the rightwing can justify the actions of Bush and his gang.

Go here for a variety of news reports concerning our dear leader the repercussions of his wonderful leadership, as well as other peripheral reports and events.

Here is another news report that strikes me as a bit ironic. Bush constantly repeating “stay the course…finish the job”, yet the Iraqi’s want us out. More of that lightning-quick-thinking-on-your feet by our dear leader. Remember how decisive and quick he was when presented with the news that the Trade Towers had been attacked? Oh yeah, Osama, remember him?
Bush is a lame duck, a badly injured lame duck at that, and the only thing left for him to fight for is his own reputation, which is pretty well set in stone at this point, and not how he envisioned it. An impossible task as the sharks are now feeding on themselves. I’m guessing he just runs around the globe making appearances until his time is up or he is forcibly removed from office. Take the perks while you can you fool.

Alrighty then, I’m done spewing for the day, please enjoy yours. ,

Arm Pat Robertson

That certainly would elevate him from being unbelievably comical to unbelievably dangerous.
Consider that for a moment; imagine if Pat Robertson had command of a military force that had the capabilities of the U.S. military.

God would be a part of all of our lives, regardless.

I saw his little diatribe against the town of Dover, Pennsylvania on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night after class and thought about writing extensively about this fool but then figured I have too much to do and too little time to do it, so I’m going to sponge off of other peoples work to entertain my Robertson post.

S.Z., owner/operator/genius of World O’ Crap has taken ol’ Pat to the proverbial woodshed in her own unique way. Go give it a read when you get the chance, and while you’re there enjoy the other rhetorical beatings she dishes out.

When I lose my cool, get all red-faced and angry, ready to cap off a few wingnuts, I try to head over that way for a comical look at the idiocy that abounds in our wonderful society.

I’m no internet doctor, but if you are experiencing indigestion, a pounding headache, a heartache, or are on the verge of exterminating your neocon neighbor, take one World O’ Crap, toss it back with a shot of your favorite juice, and you might just feel better in the morning. If that doesn’t work, try it again. If that still doesn’t work, use a stiffer juice and maybe compliment it with a toke or two.

Try it out Doc, it might help. ,

Unusually Warm November

And I'm lovin' it.

With the cost of natural gas skyrocketing this winter, I'm hoping the 60+ degree days last well into December.
Don't want to turn on the furnace 'til I see frost on the inside of my home.
Last winter, the coldest temperature recorded inside my house was 44 degrees Fahrenheit which is 6.6 degrees Celsius. That was downstairs, and it got that cold inside my humble abode because my furnace broke during the coldest part of the year and I didn't have the cash to fix it, and my own attempts failed.
$350 later, it's up and running.
You see, I'm in class 3 to 4 nights a week anyway, so it's ok if my house is an iceberg. After class I grab all my study material, put on the flannel jammies, and finish off my school work in bed before I go nite-nite.

What a glamorous life I lead.

Ok, back to the original intent of this title and subsequent post:

Schwarzenegger is being blamed by his fellow Republicans following his trouncing at the polls concerning his ballot propositions:

"What was defeated yesterday was a caricature of Arnold Schwarzenegger, not the reality of Arnold Schwarzenegger," Republican consultant Kevin Spillane said Wednesday.

Those Republicans are funny aren't they?

Tony Blair is getting to know what it feels like to be Bush and unmasked:

"Today the terrorism bill was receiving a relatively uncontroversial third reading in the Commons before it goes to the Lords - where even the compromise solution of a 28-day detention period could face a rough ride. Earlier today, Michael Howard repeated his call for Mr Blair to go, conceding that the
prime minister would probably still be here this Christmas - but that next Christmas was "another matter".
And in the Labour backbenches, rebel MP Paul Flynn warned that the parliamentary Labour party would no longer be Blair's
"poodle".

Bush is pure destruction plain and simple. Everything the guy touches turns to shit, and although Blair does not appear to need any help in that area he buddied up with Bush all the way. Ignorance does love company.
(better analysis and better commentary on Blair from the Dutch transplant himself...o shit I meant Dane transplant!)


The Asia Times reports on Bush the capitalist and how his foreign policies are anything but business friendly:

"The Bush administration has a reputation for creating an unusually business-friendly White House. Put Vice President Dick Cheney's secretive Energy Task Force and massive tax cuts together with corporate lobbyists writing regulations for their own industries, and you've made an argument that seems
pretty persuasive. There are reasons, however, to consider a contrary notion: Maybe President George W Bush and Cheney aren't very good capitalists at all.
Bush's history as a failed businessman is well known. Cheney, portrayed by conservatives as a brilliant ex-chief executive officer and by progressives as a Halliburton shill, also has a suspect past."
(snip)
"The Clinton administration served as a steady advocate for building a cooperative, "rules-based" international economy - a multilateral order known to critics as "corporate globalization". The Bush administration, while purporting to be interested in issues such as "free trade", has offered up a very different
set of policies. Aggressive and unilateralist, it has fashioned a new model of "imperial globalization", which has even put multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization, decried by globalization activists, in jeopardy.
Rather than working through such bodies, the current administration has regularly shown intransigence in international negotiations around trade and development; it has focused on tying its aid for other countries directly to its
militarist prerogatives; and it has tried to deny war-weary "Old Europe" its traditional role as a junior partner in the globalization endeavor. In the process, it has begun dismantling an international order that served multinational corporations very well in the booming 1990s, and facilitated their rise over the past 30 years."

Had to post that bit about Clinton, I know how much the right loves the Clenis!

The Asia Times also has a very informative article on Al Queada and some of its inner workings. Pretty good read if you have the interest.

Tim Kaine won the governorship here in Virginia despite Bush making a last minute airport stop to support Jerry Kilgore. I really don't think Bush had an impact one way or the other by his airport stop, but may have had an impact because he sucks ass as a President and Kilgore is party line towing - conservative culture of life - all about the death penalty - Republican.
Or maybe it's because Kaine and Warner together made great strides for Virginia and did what needed to be done, instead of towing the party line and playing politics. Hopefully we will see more of this type of politician enter civil service for both parties.

That's a fairly good article about the Kaine victory and the political makeup of Virginia, if you have the interest.

Let's see, what else is making the sun shine?
I have a ton of school work to do but the semester is over December 16th and the next semester starts January 9th. I love school, what can I say?
I have a lovely new job prospect on the horizon for the new year.
And, after a bitter and horrible relationship that drained me of every bit of energy and trust and nearly cost me my life, I might just be ready to venture out and about again.
There is a cute French lady that moved into the cube just down the hall about two weeks ago, a research scientist no less. As luck would have it, French is one of the languages I will be taking in the semester after the next.
Peut-être cette dame assez française serait intéressée donner des cours particuliers m'en français dans le commerce pour un gentilhomme méridional comme une escorte autour de l'état de Virginie, de même qu'autre placer nous pourrions aimer aller, non ? oui ?

There are more reasons for this unusually warm November, but this is enough for today.

Carry on. ,

Virginia Governor Election

Today we Virginian’s vote for a governor.

The candidates are Democrat Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

I have been watching some of the TV ads between work – school – homework – repeat, and I’m sick of the negative campaigning.

One thing I’ve noticed in general: the Republican ads constantly use the word ‘liberal’ as if it were a dirty word. The ads call the Democratic candidate ‘dishonest’, ‘liberal’ and ‘untrustworthy’. Kilgore’s campaign also accuses Kaine of ‘lying’ about his record, accuses Kaine of ‘flip-flopping’.
Kaine’s ad’s have him ‘approving this ad to set the record straight’, in which he counters the accusations with media proof that Kilgore is lying about the accusations. That means the ad shows the various leading newspapers in the state taking Kilgore’s accusations to task, and showing that Kilgore’s accusations are false.
A little digging on my own has proven that Kilgore is lying, plain and simple.

Kaine's Republican challenger, Jerry Kilgore, got a boost Monday from President Bush, who made a last-minute dash into Virginia to urge die-hard conservatives to help turn out voters for the former attorney general.
"The thing I like about this fellow is he grew up on a farm," Bush said in a brief stop on his return from a South American trade mission. "He doesn't have a lot of fancy airs."

Well hell, if that's not enough reason to vote for Kilgore then I don't know what is!! Bush never fails to entertain, I'll give him that.

One example of the Republican smear is the attempt to undermine Kaine’s aversion to the death penalty. He is a Catholic, and is opposed to the death penalty, but has said as governor, he’ll carry out the death sentences handed down by Virginia juries, because it’s the law.
Kilgore runs ads that show a tearful blue-eyed blond relating how her husband was killed by an illegal immigrant and sentenced to death for it, and now is afraid if Kaine is elected the killer will not die. Kilgore also has an ad with a gentleman in his late 60’s or 70’s appearing very doubtful and fearful about Kaine’s ability to carry out the death penalty if he is elected.

First off, what I find extraordinary about the death penalty ads is Kilgore is a Republican, he stated in the televised debate between himself and Kaine that he believes in a culture of life, yet he points to Kaine’s aversion to the death penalty as untrustworthy. Basically the ‘culture of life’ Kilgore is all about the death penalty, while claiming Kaine cannot be trusted to kill people.

Some may see as ‘slick’ how Kilgore gets a blue-eyed blonde tearfully lamenting the murder of her husband by an illegal immigrant.
Let’s tap into three of those Republican/conservative/culture of life fears: killers are running loose all over the place because if Tim Kaine is elected he cannot be trusted to carry out the law because he is opposed to the death penalty. (The death penalty is revenge, nothing more. Studies show that the death penalty is NOT a deterrent to crime.)
And, her husband was killed by an illegal immigrant. GADS! Those illegal immigrants are running amok all over Virginia! They’re everywhere! Save us!

The ‘culture of life’ crowd absolutely hates immigrants, especially those illegal immigrants because let’s face it, they’re illegal and if they’re illegal that means they’re up to no good and they’re criminals that kill and molest kids. I suppose the ‘culture of life’ people don’t think for one minute that the criminal is an anomaly, that the people who come to the United States do so because of the opportunity that exists here in comparison to where they might be coming from. In other words, immigrants exemplify how this country was founded regardless of whether they’re illegal or not. In still other words, the culture of life from whence they came sucks ass and they want a better culture of life, so in order to survive, they come here by any means necessary.

The process which an immigrant must follow to have legal status is fairly costly and complex, and extraordinarily time consuming, not to mention unsteady. I have experienced this process and it’s failure first hand, and that is why a very dear friend now resides in Canada, and has obtained Canadian citizenship. At any rate, the poorest and uneducated of immigrants are simply attempting to survive and I'm guessing don't have the ability to hop on the internets and figure out what to do. We can either help them find a better culture of life, or we can just kick them back to their own repressive country, to be victimized by Coyotes.

Lastly, the main player in the ad is a blue-eyed blond whimpering and crying. I think that needs no further analysis, but what the hell: It appears to me that the conservative crowd with all of their supposed morals (death penalty, war, anti-gay, abstinence) sure do use the female as a tool. That makes sense to some degree as conservatives tend to think that man must have domain over woman, and that her main duties are to raise children and please her man. I think there is also a bit of sexual repression in the conservative crowd that occasionally burst forth. A good example of someone that would not have one iota of attention save for the fact that she is a skinny blonde that wears a black mini-skirt a lot is this shrill harpy. To read the bile this woman spews there can be no other explanation for her popularity; cons love a filthy-mouthed blonde hussy screaming hate against anything liberal. Some sort of sexual fantasy perhaps, not sure. Just another one of those bizarro Republican world definitions.

During the televised debates between Kilgore and Kaine, Kilgore was asked how he could be such a proponent of the death penalty, yet claim to believe in ‘a culture of life’. He did not answer the question. He did the politician waltz, the dance around, the ‘if I blow enough smoke I won’t have to actually answer the question’ and the moderator called him on it.

The last question that was asked of the two was this: “Will you take a pledge that as the campaign enters it’s final two weeks, will you pledge to reduce your negative ads to below fifty percent?”

Kaine: Yes, I take the pledge.

Kilgore: Another extraordinarily long and winding answer, that did not say yes or no.

The moderator called him on that one too.

I just had a discussion with a guy here at the office that blasted Kilgore up one side and down the other, then told me the he voted for Kilgore. All of the reasons he gave were the typical conservative responses, and lo and behold he even mentioned the conservatives favorite reason for everything that’s wrong with our society.
He told me that he has a buddy that teaches at high school and that high school kids don’t think oral sex is really sex, and he placed that blame for this cultural trend squarely on Clinton. To sum it up: this guy admitted Kilgore is a crook, but that he’s going to vote for him because Clinton taught highschooler’s about blow jobs. (my high school girlfriend taught me about blow jobs, and that was a long time before Clinton was even known to me or her in any fashion)
The same guy voted for Bush both times as well, for similar reasons. I was told by somebody that they vote Republican because they feel that it’s the party that will uphold the traditions that are important to him, such as opposition to gay marriage. Forget a manufactured war, forget all the innocents dying in that manufactured war, forget all the future turmoil and conflict that will surface due to this illegal war, forget the fact that under Republican control our government failed to rescue and protect it’s own people in one of the most important, oldest, cities in the United States, and one that just happens to sit on a major shipping port, just as long as those damn gays can’t marry!

By the end of our ‘discussion’, his face was red, he was angry, and he stuck out his hand for a shake and said “I still respect you.” I’ve noticed this occurs whenever you debate a Republican/conservative with facts concerning government, that and the probability of them blaming Clinton for everything reaches 1. Clinton’s been gone for how many years now?
I’ve even been told by a conservative/libertarian/anarchist that Clinton supported the Iraq war, and that this person would provide the supporting evidence of such a claim.

No evidence yet, and here’s my suspicion why: a little digging will reveal that Clinton did not support a war with Iraq, and that what he actually said was “I have repeatedly defended President Bush against the left on Iraq, even though I think he should have waited until the U.N. inspections were over." Clinton may have thought that the inspections might have provided the proof that Saddam was NOT in possession of WMD’s, thus forcing Bush to come up with another reason to go to war. Oh wait, Bush has come up with different reasons for the war, so I guess the U.N. inspections were a non-issue anyway. Clinton was/is all for democracy in Iraq, but not through violent means.

Ok, back to the governor’s race: I voted for Kaine, and the rest of the Democratic ticket, and I sure hope they win. Bush stopped by the Richmond Airport and stumped for Kilgore, and I can only hope that it hurt him more than helped BUT, as I have witnessed myself with conservative Republicans, they’ll stay the course no matter what.
They are conservative after all.

Take a good damn look at where our country was in 2000, and where it is now, and where it’s headed.
How could anybody in their right mind vote Republican?
They can’t, they vote Republican because the hate Clinton and blame him for everything that they can’t adjust to in our multicultural society that’s not EVER going to be what they think it should be, or they vote a single issue that resonates within their own little world, such as gay marriage.

If there are any Republican voters out there that stumbled across this site and want to add to the reasons why you vote Republican, please feel free to leave a comment. I am sorely curious as to what the GOP’s appeal to any sane and rational thinking human being would be.

That is all. ,