Oral Arguments: They Paid For The Blowjob, And Now The Whore Delivers

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on how much money ExxonMobil should be forced to pay as damages for its Exxon Valdez oil spill 19 years ago.

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank notes that Chief Justice John Roberts appeared "bothered" that Exxon might have to pay for its destruction:

What bothered the chief justice was that Exxon was being ordered to pay $2.5 billion -- roughly three weeks' worth of profits -- for destroying a long swath of the Alaska coastline in the largest oil spill in American history.
"So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?" Roberts asked in court.

War ....What Is It Good For....?

THE Iraq war has cost the US 50-60 times more than the Bush administration predicted and was a central cause of the sub-prime banking crisis threatening the world economy, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

The former World Bank vice-president yesterday said the war had, so far, cost the US something like $US3trillion ($3.3 trillion) compared with the $US50-$US60-billion predicted in 2003.

Professor Stiglitz told the Chatham House think tank in London that the Bush White House was currently estimating the cost of the war at about $US500 billion, but that figure massively understated things such as the medical and welfare costs of US military servicemen.

The war was now the second-most expensive in US history after World War II and the second-longest after Vietnam, he said.

The spending on Iraq was a hidden cause of the current credit crunch because the US central bank responded to the massive financial drain of the war by flooding the American economy with cheap credit.

"The regulators were looking the other way and money was being lent to anybody this side of a life-support system," he said.

That led to a housing bubble and a consumption boom, and the fallout was plunging the US economy into recession and saddling the next US president with the biggest budget deficit in history, he said.

Professor Stiglitz, an academic at the Columbia Business School and a former economic adviser to president Bill Clinton, said a further $US500 billion was going to be spent on the fighting in the next two years and that could have been used more effectively to improve the security and quality of life of Americans and the rest of the world.

The money being spent on the war each week would be enough to wipe out illiteracy around the world, he said.

Just a few days' funding would be enough to provide health insurance for US children who were not covered, he said.

Every Sperm Is Sacred Revisited.....

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Monday endorsed a proposed Colorado Human Life Amendment that would define personhood as a fertilized egg.

The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister also supports a human-life amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Huckabee spoke favorably about the Colorado ballot initiative, sponsored by 20-year-old Kristi Burton and her Colorado for Equal Rights group, during his Friday visit to Colorado Springs.

On Monday, Huckabee lent official support to the measure.

"This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception," Huckabee said in a statement.

Maybe Kim Jong Il Just Likes A Man With A Slowhand...

North Korean officials have invited rock guitarist Eric Clapton to play a concert in the Communist state, a diplomat at the country's embassy in London said Tuesday.
The diplomat confirmed reports in the British media that Clapton had been officially invited to Pyongyang — the first such invitation to a Western rock star to the isolated nation.

North Korean authorities have long shunned rock and pop music, although Kim Jong Chol, the Swiss-educated son of national leader Kim Jong Il, is reportedly a huge Clapton fan.

One From A Long Long Time Ago

I've never published or shown this one much, but I think it holds up ok. I always thought it was the best thing I ever wrote, but I'm the worst judge of that.

How Does The Moon Look In London?

It's a foggy night
October is in the air
Lake St. Clair is in this Michigan breeze
and through the trees
the moon is full
God, this midwest autum is painfully sweet
( aren't they always?)

But how does the moon look in London tonight?
What are you thinking on that Island tonight?

Londons just a plane ride away
Londons just a lifetime away
You'll never be back will you?
Why can't I stop loving you?

I know how to find London
But how do I find your heart

How do you find the moon in London?

Maybe They'll Make This Guy Thier Civil Rights Advisor:

From The Politico


Top Republican strategists are working on plans to protect the GOP from charges of racism or sexism in the general election, as they prepare for a presidential campaign against the first ever African-American or female Democratic nominee.

The Republican National Committee has commissioned polling and focus groups to determine the boundaries of attacking a minority or female candidate, according to people involved.

The secretive effort underscores the enormous risk senior GOP operatives see for a party often criticized for its insensitivity to minorities in campaigns dating back to the 1960s. The RNC project is viewed as so sensitive that those involved in the work were reluctant to discuss the findings in detail. But one Republican strategist, who asked that his name be withheld to speak candidly, said the research shows the daunting and delicate task ahead. Republicans will be told to “be sensitive to tone and stick to the substance of the discussion” and that “the key is that you have to be sensitive to the fact that you are running against historic firsts,” the strategist explained.

Still No Cure For Stupid

From AP

A federal court jury on Friday found the owner of a company that sells "male enhancement" tablets and other herbal supplements guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Steve Warshak, whose conviction was reported Friday by The Cincinnati Enquirer, is founder and president of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, which distributes Enzyte and a number of products alleged to boost energy, manage weight, reduce memory loss and aid restful sleep.
Television ads for Enzyte feature "Smiling Bob," a goofy, grinning man whose life gets much better after he uses the product, which allegedly boosted his sexual performance.
Warshak, 40, could face more than 20 years in prison and his company could have to forfeit tens of millions of dollars.

The government also alleged the defendants obstructed investigations by two federal agencies.
Some former employees, including relatives of Warshak, pleaded guilty to other charges and cooperated with prosecutors. They testified that the company created fictitious doctors to endorse the pills, fabricated a customer-satisfaction survey and made up numbers to back claims about Enzyte's effectiveness.

A New Poem

Here is a brand new poem. I normally keep anything new I write locked away for some while before I let anyone see it, but I thought I'd throw this one out there. Any reaction is welcome.

Survived By No One

I read today about a priest who died

He was old and Holy and the paper said

He was survived by no one,

but when he was young he cried for justice.

And I believe what I read in the paper.

Grief runs the long course

Legs heavy like stone

Lungs burning

and that's only the first mile.

Under a wolf moon

We become no more

And are no longer

imagined by the world.

There is no need for tears

Or lamplight to read this page.

The moon will suffice,

but when I was young I cried for love.

So I turn

Turn to a child

To the stars over water

To the sky in summer

As if to forget

As if to forestall

What I read in the paper.

What Do You Suppose They Teach Kids In China?

As long as these yahboobs are on school boards in this county, the rest of the world is gonna kick our ass in science.

Evolution To Be Taught As Scientific ‘Theory’ In Florida Because Of Right-Wing Campaign

Today, Florida’s Board of Education voted 4-3 to change standards for teaching science in Florida’s public schools. The Miami Herald reports:

For the first time ever, evolution is to be taught clearly and explicitly in Florida classrooms now that the Florida Board of Education Tuesday approved a batch of new science standards that says the ”E” word.

But there’s a catch: Evolution will be taught as “the Scientific Theory of Evolution.”

Previously, Florida’s science standards referred to evolution as “biological changes over time.” The shift to evolution was widely embraced by Florida’s scientists, school teachers, and university professors.

Yet a successful lobbying campaign by a coalition of conservative groups, such as the Christian Coalition of Florida and the Florida Family Policy Council, managed to convince the board to insert the caveat. They said they were “vigorously opposed” to the evolution language because it “clashes with their religious convictions or their personal beliefs that evolution has not been proved.”

Unfortunately, however, the right’s tactics seemed to be mostly driven by ignorance. At a public hearing, one Florida Panhandle resident held up two oranges and mockingly said that “after reading all the material” on evolution, he has a “conviction” that one of the oranges “is the first cousin of somebody’s pet cat” and the other, “the parent of somebody’s pet dog.”

Is Big Brother Watching Big Brother?

NEW YORK -- A national autism advocacy group is demanding an apology from CBS over a disparaging remark a contestant on the reality show "Big Brother" made about people with the disorder.
John Gilmore, executive director of Autism United, said Monday that his group has been trying to speak with CBS executives since last week's broadcast.
On that episode, a contestant named Adam, who claims to work for an autism foundation, said he would spend his winnings on a hair salon for people with developmental disabilities "so retards can get it together and get their hair done."
His partner, Sheila, told him: "Don't call them that."
Adam responded: "Disabled kids. I can call them whatever I want. I work with them all day, OK?"

So half a second of Janets titty is a big ass fine from the FCC, but this is OK? In the imortal words of Jane Fonda on Tee Vee the other day, this guy is a c*&t.

Don't Stand So Close To Me......

From the NYT

February 18, 2008

POLITICAL MEMO

McCain Facing Delicate Choice: A Role for Bush

By ELISABETH BUMILLER

WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain’s campaign advisers will ask the White House to deploy President Bush for major Republican fund-raising, but they do not want the president to appear too often at his side, top aides to Mr. McCain said Sunday.

After a weekend of strategy meetings at Mr. McCain’s Arizona ranch — in a sense, the first Sedona summit of the Republican Party’s new leadership — the advisers said that much remains undecided about coordinating the campaign with the White House and the party apparatus until Mr. McCain wins enough delegates to be the official nominee.

But even as the consensus was that Mr. McCain needed to “stand in the sun” on his own, as one adviser put it, without the large shadow cast by Mr. Bush, left unsaid was the difficult calculus the McCain campaign faces: Using Mr. Bush enough to try to make the tough sell of Mr. McCain to conservatives but not so much that he will drive away the independents and some moderate Democrats that Mr. McCain is counting on in November.

Democrats, meanwhile, have been using every opportunity to link Mr. McCain to Mr. Bush, even defining Mr. McCain’s candidacy as part of a “Bush-McCain” ticket that they say will essentially give the president another term.

There is also the matter of Mr. Bush’s unpopularity — polls show that only about 30 percent of voters approve of the job he is doing as president.

And though he remains relatively popular among Republicans, even there his approval rating has declined to 66 percent.

Uh excuse me Liz? "Also the mater of Bush's unpopularity.." ? Say there Cap'n other than that nasty business at the end with the iceberg how was the maiden voyage? Christ on a stick, these fucking reporters redefine mendacity on a daily basis. And you can print that.

A Great Poet From Michigan

Why not a great poem from a great poet on a sunny Saturday morning...........

Theodore Roethke
From Saginaw Michigan
1908-1963

My Papa's Waltz

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

Does It Feel Like Drowning With McCains Dick That Far Down Your Throat Joe?

Lieberman backs waterboarding; 'It's not like we're burning people with hot coals'

The onetime Democratic vice presidential running mate who became an independent to fend off a liberal challenger in Connecticut stumped for waterboarding in a conference call with reporters late Thursday, saying it wasn't as bad as burning people with hot coals.
"We are at war," Lieberman said. "I know enough from public statements made by Osama bin Laden and others as well as classified information I see to know the terrorists are actively planning, plotting to attack us again. I want our government to be able to gather information again within both the law and Geneva Convention."
Lieberman asserted that waterboarding isn't torture because it leaves no "permanent damage."
"It is not like putting burning coals on people's bodies. The person is in no real danger. The impact is psychological," Lieberman said.

Across The Universe.....

Astronomers said Wednesday that they had found a miniature version of our own solar system 5,000 light-years across the galaxy — the first planetary system that really looks like our own, with outer giant planets and room for smaller inner planets.
“It looks like a scale model of our solar system,” said Scott Gaudi, an assistant professor of astronomy at Ohio State University. Dr. Gaudi led an international team of 69 professional and amateur astronomers who announced the discovery in a news conference with reporters.
Their results are being published Friday in the journal Science. The discovery, they said, means that our solar system may be more typical of planetary systems across the universe than had been thought.
In the newly discovered system, a planet about two-thirds of the mass of Jupiter and another about 90 percent of the mass of Saturn are orbiting a reddish star at about half the distances that Jupiter and Saturn circle our own Sun. The star is about half the mass of the Sun.
Neither of the two giant planets is a likely abode for life as we know it. But, Dr. Gaudi said, warm rocky planets — suitable for life — could exist undetected in the inner parts of the system.
“This could be a true solar system analogue,” he said.
Sara Seager, a theorist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not part of the team, said that “right now in exoplanets we are on an inexorable path to finding other Earths.” Dr. Seager praised the discovery as “a big step in finding out if our planetary system is alone.”

Don't Let The Door Hit You In The Ass....

Republican walk-out to protest vote

Democrats passed contempt of Congress citations against two Bush administration figures Thursday after the charges had spent months in limbo.

On a vote of 223-to-32 House Democrats succeeded in passing the contempt charges against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers, after Republicans walked out in protest.

House Republicans staged a walk-out Thursday afternoon to protest the contempt vote and the failure by the chamber's majority members to bow to President Bush's demands on a controversial spying law. 

"We will not stand here and watch this floor be abused for pure political grandstanding at the expense of our national security. ... Let's just get up and leave," Republican Leader John Boehner advised his colleagues as they dramatically left the floor Thursday afternoon.

So Mr .Boner, just why is it you never left when that prick Tom Delay was using the house day after day for pure political grandstanding.... huh? Fuck you John boy....

It Only FEELS Like Torture Bob.....

I was on duty last night, and I'm pretty sure that everyone who could fall down and go boom, did fall down and go boom last night. We stepped off our Rescue Squad Truck at a call for a possible fire in a church basement and I watched 3 firefighters slip and land on their tush one after another. Thank God we didn't need to flow water last night! Anyhow here’s a call I wish I ran, I would have strapped him as tight as I could to the backboard(to make sure there is no C-Spine compromise), elevated his feet ( modified Trendelenberg shock position), and started a "fluid challenge" of normal saline bilaterally in both nares with an NPA in each one ( to prevent dehydration). Then I would have asked Bob if he had any thoughts he'd like to share.......

Here is the wire copy:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates broke his right shoulder in a fall on an icy step at his home in Washington, D.C., and was being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Pentagon said.
Gates was taken to the military medical center Wednesday morning after realizing that the injury he suffered Tuesday night required medical attention, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.

"It doesn't look like Gates will require surgery," Morrell added.
Gates canceled a scheduled appearance Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill because of the accident. He was expected to testify on the Pentagon's budget for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The Big "O"

Easy in and out at the polling place this afternoon with a short line, both "Tasha and I went for the "O" man. it's time for something different. I just hope he delivers.

I predict Obama takes 2 of 3 in the Potomac Primary..I'm not sure about Virginia...but then I never really am...

Battle Of The Potomac

I'm going to go vote later this afternoon, and will blog a report on what the polling place near my home in the heart of affluent Montgomery County Maryland is like. I may not be able to post utill tomorow though as I have an EMS duty shift tonight and it looks like freezing rain is on the way. That may screw up the vote, it will certainly screw up any chance of a good nights sleep at the fire house!

My daughter is set to vote for Obama..I'm still wishing Edwards was in the race, and am torn between Hillarys policy agenda and Obamas international hope appeal. Hmmmmm I'll let you know which lever I pull.

Ground Control To Major Tom... Get Your Hands Off The Damn Robot

In the mood for a little skin-to-skin?" coos a lover slipping between the sheets.

"Not tonight," mumbles the partner, turning around. "Just make it with the robot, if you want."
A kinky sci-fi fantasy? Love and lust in the 23rd century?

Not at all, says David Levy, a PhD in gender studies and artificial intelligence and author of "Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relations".
By mid-century, predicts the 62-year-old expert, getting it on with an electronic femme-fatale or a superstud sexbot will become an accepted part of the human landscape.

"Think of it: great sex on tap, 24/7," he said. People may even fall in love with their hard-wired sex slaves, he adds.

"Already today, the best quality synthetic voices cannot be distinguished from human voices," Levy told AFP, adding that some artificial skins now rival the smoothest of baby bottoms.
Last November, researchers at Waseda University in Japan unveiled a robot, named Twendy-One, that can cook, talk, obey verbal commands, and use its soft silicon-wrapped hands -- each equipped with 241 pressure sensors -- to interact with humans.

Even so, it will be a long time, Levy acknowledges, before we cannot tell the difference between human and humanoid.

No shit Doc.. You may think it sounds like fun to boink the toaster.. but I'll take a pass thank you very much.....

News From The Internets

When news breaks here, it stays broken:

From the "Hold Onto Your Wallet in Ohio" file:
Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) will be released from his minimum security prison later this month, according to a source close to the former Congressman.

Staight To Hell X'Press Update:

On Friday, a day after Karl Rove donated $2300 to John McCain's campaign, McCain (R-AZ) put aside a longstanding grudge over Rove's famously bold tactics in securing George Bush the 2000 GOP nomination, and said that Rove’s advice would be welcome in his campaign.
"Nobody denies he's one of the smartest political minds in America," McCain said. "I'd be glad to get his advice. I get advice from a lot of people. I'd be happy to have his advice."

We Don't Need No Stinking Constitution, and We Don't Need No Science Niether....
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has won electoral contests by focusing his pitch to religious conservatives around the country. And in a Sunday visit to the church of the deceased Rev. Jerry Falwell, Huckabee threw that base some more red meat.
"We really don’t need a lot of law if we’re people of morality," Huckabee said at the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, according to a report in the Lynchburg News Advance. "There are only 10 basic laws that we need … the reason that the law is more complicated is because we try to find clever ways around those 10."

White House Economists Predict I Will Sleep With Morgan Fairchild:
The US economy will grow in 2008 and avoid a recession despite a lingering housing slump and a related credit crunch, White House economists said Monday.
The annual "Economic Report of the President" said the world's largest economy had absorbed shocks in the past and that Congress's approval of a giant economic stimulus plan last week would help bolster growth.
"Economic growth is expected to continue in 2008. Most market forecasts suggest a slower pace in the first half of 2008, followed by strengthened growth in the second half of the year," the annual survey said.

What The Fuck Is The Matter With Kansas???

Social and fiscal conservatives Saturday overwhelmed moderate elements of Kansas' divided Republican Party in the statewide caucuses to deliver a landslide victory for dark-horse presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
This was the first GOP caucus in Kansas since 1988 when native son Bob Dole nearly lost to long-shot TV evangelist Pat Robertson.


KANSAS GOP CAUCUS RESULTS
Candidate Votes Percent
Mike Huckabee 11,627 60
John McCain 4,587 24
Ron Paul 2,182 11
Mitt Romney 653 3
Alan Keyes 288 1
Uncommitted 84 0
Fred Thompson 61 0
Rudy Giuliani 34 0

Alan Keys??? That silly bastard is still alive?? And he got twice as many votes in Kansas as Rudy and Fred combined? That sure is one fucked up state ya got there Dorthy........

Thank You For Smoking

(Foodconsumer.org) -- The World Health Organization issued a report on Feb 7 saying smoking tobacco could kill 1 billion people in the 21st century urging the nations to take measures to stop the ever-increasing smoking trends worldwide. The WHO said no country has done enough to curb tobacco use, which is expected to kill 500 million people worldwide who live today.The WHO proposed six measures for countries to adopt to fight tobacco smoking including monitoring tobacco use and prevention; protecting people from tobacco smoke; offering help to quit tobacco use, warning people about the dangers of tobacco; enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and raising taxes on tobacco.

BTW: I am smoke free for 13 months now! ( Better late than never I guess...)

Somewhere Ill Duce Is Smiling

A public-private partnership program on infrastructure preparedness and protection run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation allegedly has briefed its corporate members on the possibility of martial law and the use of lethal force, according to an exclusive report in the magazine The Progressive.

"One business owner in the United States tells me that InfraGard members are being advised on how to prepare for a martial law situation—and what their role might be," writes Matthew Rothschild in the Feb. 7 report, quoting an anonymous whistleblower on the program. "'Then they said when—not if—martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn’t be prosecuted,' he says."

Rothschild's report details InfraGard, a program set up between the FBI and a number of businesses engaged in maintaining elements of "critical national infrastructure," such as agriculture, banking and finance, the chemical industry, defense, energy, food, information and telecommunications, law enforcement, public health, and transportation. The program's 23,000-plus members provide information to the FBI and in turn receive privileged information from the FBI on threats to infrastructure.

In one case, Rothschild expalined, InfraGard members appeared to get details on a threat to California's bridges prior to then-Gov. Gray Davis. The California governor was informed by his brother Barry, a banker, of the danger potentially faced by the state's residents.

"I was on the phone with my brother, who is an investment banker. And if he knows, why shouldn’t the public know?" Davis' former press secretary Steve Maviglio quotes the governor as saying, according to Rothschild.

The FBI called accusations of deputizing businesses to shoot-to-kill in emergency situations "ridiculous."

“If you want to quote a businessperson saying that, knock yourself out. If that’s what you want to print, fine," a spokeswoman for the bureau told Rothschild.

His First Choice was Charles Bronson, But I Think He's Dead

Would embattled former UN ambassador John Bolton have a place in John McCain's presidential cabinet?

The idea was brewing beneath the veneer of Bolton's address to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.

Revealing information that he said had never before been made public, Bolton discussed how McCain secretly tried to shepherd his nomination to the United Nations -- a nomination that was held up in Congress over Bolton's controversial anti-UN statements and policies.

"He was very active behind the scenes," said Bolton, who was ultimately sent to the UN via a presidential recess appointment. "He thought I was the type of ambassador that ought to represent the United States at the United Nations."

Addressing an audience already skeptical of McCain's presidential nomination, Bolton offered a defense of the senator. Mostly, however, his argument amounted to criticisms of the Democratic contenders, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

"The person who takes office on January 20, 2009 has to be prepared to be commander-in-chief immediately," said Bolton. "We cannot have a president who needs on-the-job training, nor a president who has problems dealing with a little bit of stress."

Even prior to the speech the possibility of a Bolton cabinet position was being batted around. The introductory speaker, Ken Timmerman, referred to the former UN Ambassador as both a "warrior of light," and "our next Secretary of State."

But Bolton himself hinted at gaps between his and McCain's outlook on foreign affairs. Without addressing the Arizona Republican by name, he warned against the ratification of the International Criminal Court, a policy anathema in conservative circles but to which McCain has offered tepid support. And after his speech was over, he deflected questions about serving as a McCain adviser or cabinet officer.

""I really don't think about that and really shouldn't think about that. The first thing we need to do is win the election," said Bolton. "I think, from talking to people here, he has a lot of work to do... in terms of bringing everybody on board."

Buh Bye Willard

I predicted no later that March 1st for Willard to sneak back to Salt Lake City... and he beats me by 3 weeks.  See ya later asshole......

Now for some more R on R action:

James Dobson on John McCain:

"I am deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, voted for embryonic stem-cell research to kill nascent human beings, opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, has little regard for freedom of speech, organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters in judicial hearings, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language."

Hey Jimmy..not that I like McCain or anything..but foul and obscene language??? Have you ever been in a room with Bush & Cheney? Well let me just quote the Dickster on the Senate floor: "Go Fuck Yourself"

The Soft Bigotry of Tribal Politics

So: Super Tuesday ends in a tie for the D's and Willard is on the ropes for the R's. What does all this mean and what might we expect? 

Lets start with the D's: The O man did well with blacks and Starbucks liberal whites ( like me I guess). HRC did well with Latinos and the Wall Mart Dems. The Dems did about twice the number the R's did in voter turn out. What this means is that the R's are in trouble down ticket in November, and we might just end up with the majority we need in the Senate to move things along. That is if we have an agenda to move. 

My gut tells me the race is still Hills to lose, but the O man could steal it if he can find a game changer event to change Hispanic minds. I think we are seeing the animosity between the African American and Hispanic communities play out here, even though no one in the chattering classes wants to say it. 

The home boys from the barrio don't get along so well with the brothers from the hood, and the blacks are not gonna vote for a white woman over a black man. Call it the OJ effect. We are seeing racial and class politics at work here, and are too PC to call it what it is. On the R side its a similar deal with that scumbag Huckster from Arkansas, he got the votes of the tribe most like him: the white southern know nothing yah-boobs. Willard seems to be about out of gas if not hairspray, and that crazy old warmonger McCain may yet get his overdue Bob Dole moment. 

Either HRC or BHO will beat that nutty fucker like a dead mule in spite of every swift boat torpedo the R's can launch provided the turn out and enthusiasm disparity stays on it's present course. 

Predictions: Willard's out by March 1st, Bama and Mama roll into April at least,  and Ann Coulter is busted masturbating in a porno shop in Florida with Pee Wee Herman.

Mardi Gras Exploding Heads

Well when ever I run up against something I don't know much about, I water board somebody. I mean like duh...what else are you gonna do?

The terrorist group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq may try to attack targets around the world in response to U.S.-led efforts to clamp down on it, the top U.S. intelligence official said.

``I am increasingly concerned that as we inflict significant damage on al-Qaeda in Iraq, it may shift resources to mounting more attacks outside of Iraq,'' Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told the Senate Intelligence Committee today.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Hayden testified that waterboarding was employed in questioning three terror suspects because officials feared an attack and didn't know much about al-Qaeda.

``We used it against three detainees because of the circumstances at the time'' and it has since been discontinued, Hayden said.

Hayden said the detainees were Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged planner of the Sept. 11 attacks; Abu Zubaydah, a reputed al-Qaeda leader and associate of Osama Bin Laden; and Abd al- Rahim al-Nashiri, a suspected al-Qaeda leader behind the USS Cole bombing in 2000.

Waterboarding simulates drowning as a suspect is tied to a board and water is poured through a cloth that covers his face.

Network of Operatives

As for al-Qaeda in Iraq, McConnell said the group can use a network of operatives that stretches into Europe. The terrorists are intent on fulfilling al-Qaeda leader bin Laden's 2005 threat to attack the U.S., he said.

( If They are "stretching into Europe" , that would make them "al- Qaeda  in Europe" now wouldn't it??? I mean is it just me? My fucking heads gonna explode...  )

Fill 'Er Up R2D2

Dutch unveil robot to fill car gas tank
Mon Feb 4, 2008 11:25am EST


EMMELOORD, Netherlands (Reuters) - Motorists nostalgic for the time they could sit tight while attendants braved windswept garage forecourts to fill their tanks may yet see those heady days return -- compliments of a Dutch robot.
Dutch inventors unveiled on Monday a 75,000 euro ($111,100) car-fuelling robot they say is the first of its kind, working by registering the car on arrival at the filling station and matching it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types.
A robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors extends from a regular gas pump, carefully opens the car's flap, unscrews the cap, picks up the fuel nozzle and directs it towards the tank opening, much as a human arm would, and as efficiently.
"I was on a farm and I saw a robotic arm milking a cow. If a robot can do that then why can't it fill a car tank, I thought," said developer and petrol station operator Nico van Staveren. "Drivers needn't get dirty hands or smell of petrol again."

Another Great Republican Moral Thinker Heard From

Here's a Taste of radio scumbag Niel Boortz on Jan 30 from Media Matters:

Summary: On his nationally syndicated radio show, Neal Boortz made disparaging remarks about Hurricane Katrina victims, stating, "When these Katrina so-called refugees were scattered about the country, it was just a glorified episode of putting out the garbage." Boortz also described New Orleans as "a city of parasites, a city of people who could not and had no desire to fend for themselves."

Boortz has previously made disparaging remarks about Katrina victims. For instance, on June 6, 2006, Boortz told his listeners: "I love talking to you about these Katrina refugees. I mean, so many of them have turned out to be complete bums, just debris. Debris that Hurricane Katrina washed across the country." In 2005, Boortz suggested that a victim of Hurricane Katrina housed in an Atlanta hotel consider prostitution: "I dare say she could walk out of that hotel and walk 100 yards in either direction on Fulton Industrial Boulevard [the street on which the hotel is located] here in Atlanta and have a job." After his show's then-former engineer warned, "Watch out, Neal. Those people who know Fulton Industrial Boulevard think you might be suggesting something a little risqué," Boortz replied: "If that's the only way she can take care of herself, it sure beats the hell out of sucking off the taxpayers.

How Can A Poor Man.... ( Continued )

ExxonMobil reported Friday the largest US corporate annual profit in history at 40.6 billion dollars, benefiting from surging crude oil prices on strong demand, particularly in China and India.

The net profit was three percent higher than a year ago when the biggest US oil and gas firm reported a 2006 annual profit of 39.5 billion dollars, which had prompted ire over US policies said to favor big oil firms.

The multinational behemoth also posted a record fourth-quarter net profit, at 11.6 billion dollars, up 14 percent from the same period in 2006 as gains in crude.

Fourth-quarter profit per share rose to 2.13 dollars, beating analysts' forecasts of 1.95 dollars.

Full-year sales climbed by seven percent to 404.5 billion dollars, driven by a 29 percent spike in the final quarter, to 116.6 billion dollars.

Earnings per share jumped by 10 percent to 7.28 dollars from 2006, reflecting a program of share buybacks, the Irving, Texas-based company said in a statement.

They Hired The Money Didn't They?

Foreclosure bill rejected by one vote

Republicans in the state Senate say the proposal would make lenders reluctant to do business in California.

By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 
January 31, 2008

SACRAMENTO -- Legislation aimed at slowing residential foreclosures in California failed by a single vote in the state Senate on Wednesday, after Republicans balked at requiring lenders to talk personally with borrowers before they start the default process.

After the vote, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) criticized the GOP lawmakers and vowed to bring back a similar bill in the spring.

"There are some things, albeit minor, that we can do in California to help those who are ensnared in the so-called sub-prime mortgage crisis," Perata said. "There are enough reasons for us to try to slow this process down."

He warned that 300,000 California homeowners face dramatically higher monthly payments on their adjustable-interest-rate mortgages this year.