This is the letter I sent to Nickelodeon -"I want to take
this time to thank Hasbro for it's sponsorship of Nicelodeon. I'm
sure that the company has received many letters of protest from
the ranks of Michelle Malkin's hordes. I for one know that the
segment was for the purpose of showing what power a Citizen has
and ways to exercise it. I would be very disappointed if Hasbro
pulled it's advertising because some don't like the idea of
Citizen empowerment. As a father of a 3yr. old I must say, we
enjoy a lot of Nickelodean's programming and don't see anything
wrong with educating children on Citizenship and the
responsibility it requires. Thank you for your time and have a
good day."
This is Alison Dexter's to Executive Vice President (EVP)
of Production at Nickelodeon personal cell number - 818-736-3000.
I would not have provided it except Stepford Wife
"ArmyWifeToddlerMom" put it on her site. I called and
she seemed delighted that I called. She thanked me and ask me to
repeat my opinion on the message line which she transferred me to.
Remember Politeness Counts. Oh yeah, the Kids are alright.
DoJ Official Experienced
Waterboarding, Told WH It Is Illegal, Was ‘Forced Out’
...in 2004 then-acting assistant attorney general Daniel
Levin was so concerned about the administration’s use of
waterboarding that he went to a military base near Washington and underwent
the procedure himself.
...
ABC reported that after Levin personally experienced
waterboarding, he told the White House that it could be considered
torture:
After the experience, Levin told White House officials that even
though he knew he wouldn’t die, he found the experience
terrifying and thought that it clearly simulated drowning.
Levin, who refused to comment for this story, concluded waterboarding
could be illegal torture unless performed in a highly limited way
and with close supervision. And, sources told ABC News, he
believed the Bush Administration had failed
to offer clear guidelines for its use.
Levin was working on a second memo that would have imposed tighter
controls on the use of interrogation techniques such as
waterboarding.
While working on that memo, ABC reported “Levin
was forced out of the Justice Department when Alberto Gonzales
became Attorney General.”
Let me see if I understand this
correctly...
An acting assistant attorney
general of the United States, someone with authority to
determine for legal purposes whether this treatment was torture, underwent
the process himself, determined that it was
indeed a form of torture administered in a seemingly lawless
fashion, and was fired by his superiors when his views were made
known because he was viewed not to be '...endorse(ing) White House
policies' enthusiastically enough.
Some people never know how close to the edge they are, until they
step over it.
By request…To speak, oh yes to vote!
From Shark-Fu for AngryBlackBitch
A certain Isis from Chi-Town sent this bitch an e-mail asking my
advice on how to motivate the black women in her family to vote.
Cough…sip yummified iced green tea…continue…
You got it, sistah…but this shit applies to everyone as far as
this bitch is concerned.
Every election is a job interview between the masses and the
candidates. Oh, I know that’s easy to forget when the media is
focused on clothing choices and fundraising goals rather than an
individual’s qualifications…but when you step into that voting
booth it’s just you and the choices and the fluff be damned.
I teach a Voter Education class and each session my students ask
me why the hell they should give a shit about politics in general
and elections in particular and I usually reply…
Do you eat food? Because your government’s policies and the
agencies that enforce them impact everything that goes into your
mouth. Tired of the recalls and worrying whether that salad you
had for lunch is going to land your broke ass in the hospital?
Well, the detection of food-based rancidity depends on screening
and screening depends on staffing and staffing depends on funding
and funding depends on the priorities of the head motherfuckers in
charge.
Blink.
Do you use electricity…water…the toilet? Do you drive a car,
have car insurance or home insurance…do you have a credit card
or a savings account?
Do you have children or grandchildren…are you planning to have
children, adopt them or not have kids at all…do you want to
marry but can’t or do you want to divorce and just can’t
afford to…do you pay taxes for a shitty school system or pay too
many taxes for a fantabulous one?
Do you have children of draftable age…blink but don't sleep...or
do you have people in your life who actively serve in the
military…or do you have anyone in your life who plans to?
Do you want to make medical decisions with your doctor or the
Supreme Court?
Do you want to be proud of your country or pray for forgiveness?
Do you want to have a voice or do you want to be spoken for?
Sigh.
Politics is local, but government is personal as hell.
So why care…why volunteer…why vote…why make each and every
candidate achieve our vote before they receive it?
Look around you and behold all those things you hold dear and all
the shit you can’t fucking stand.
The junta are taking a very basic approach to relations with the
UN, they effectivley made Charles Petrie, the UN Resident Coordinator
redundant by declining to renew his permission, on the face of it
because they were displeased with what he had said about their regime.
Something along the lines of- you brutal bunch of fascist Neanderthal
muppets, your people are starving you ludicrous uniformed asswipes
(I’m paraphrasing here but that’s the main gist…probably).
This was just ahead of Gambari visiting today which is what lets the
other shoe drop…By expelling the UN they suddenly create a crisis
that the envoy will need to talk to them about, suddenly they can make
the negotiations all about the UN, it gives them a greater stake of
diplomatic currency to bargain with and ooh gosh maybe we’ll let him
stay if you’re nice, or maybe we’ll demand a different guy.
Meanwhile all the other stuff that they needed to negotiate on cannot
get as mush attention and they can slide on it more easily. They are
slippery buggers who quite frankly are taking the piss, they have
again cut net access and are happily signing a $60
million deal for a hydro electric plant with an Indian bank.
Gambari was intending to push for proper negotiations between the
junta and the opposition (otherwise known as the democratically
elected government, ahem)-
Internet
connections in Myanmar, which had been cut on Thursday, were
still not operating on Saturday.The restrictions on internet access
have been widely seen as an attempt by Myanmar’s rulers to limit
the flow of information before Gambari’s visit, his second in a
month.
Gambari is seeking to persuade Myanmar’s ruling generals to
instigate political reforms, weeks after a violent military
crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. He is expected to meet
generals and other senior officials in the capital Naypyidaw, as
well as representatives of non-governmental organisations, a Myanmar
official said. He will also meet detained pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD)
party, the official told AFP news agency.
At the same time the The International Committee of the Red Cross
are requesting access-
In
a statement, released yesterday, the ICRC said it “is ready to
resume all its activities at very short notice, provided it is given
the necessary guarantees that it will be able to act as a neutral
and independent humanitarian organization.” Permission to visit
those being held in detention as a result of their roles in the
protests of August and September is given as a driving force behind
ICRC’s request.
The request to again conduct work in Burma comes four months
after the organization issued an atypical public censure of a
national government: “The ICRC has repeatedly drawn attention to
abuses but the authorities have failed to put a stop to them. The
continuing deadlock with the authorities has led the ICRC to take
the exceptional step of making its concerns public,” stated ICRC
President Jakob Kellenberger.
Assesment of the General’s sincerity is not rosy-
Ahead
of Gambari’s visit, some experts said the international
scrutiny faced by the junta since the crackdown could pave the way
for a meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime’s top
general Than Shwe, a key demand of the international community.
“Than Shwe does not … want to have dialogue with Aung San
Suu Kyi, but current international pressure and sanctions may force
him to have talks,” said Thai-based Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo.
Others, though, see any concessions made by the junta as an attempt
to give the impression it is trying to meet demands for reform
without ceding any real power.
“The junta is trying to make some concessions. But in terms
of substance, I don’t think the concessions are real,” said Win
Min, a lecturer at Payap University in Chiang Mai.
“Maybe
the next time it will be the farmers who take the lead in
response to the rapid inflation between their plantation season and
crop harvesting seasons who see their investment evaporate,” said
U Maung Maung, general secretary of the National Council of the
Union of Burma.
An interesting comment piece Playing
God in Burma by May Ng a regional officer for Justice for Human
Rights in Burma and rounds up some background on the junta’s
strategic alliances, future deals with China & Russia and their
relations among the ASEAN nations. The network of trade and
geopolitical game playing is what keeps the junta in place, would that
realpolitik was replaced with humanpolitik, then we could make some
genuine claim to being civilised. Until then, well Jarvis
said it nicely.
Know a blog that
deserves to be featured on the Blog World Report? Contact Robert.
Experts rightly say the climate is our
biggest security threat, we all know it as we watch the world prepare to
make it irreperable!
From James Joiner for An
Average American Patriot
Experts rightly say the Climate is our biggest security threat: we all
know it as we watch the world prepare to worsen it Exponentially!
It really bothers me that any idiot knows this as we watch the
environment deteriorate around the world and what we see beginning right
here in America is occurring on an even worse scale as the world ignores
the reality of our situation and because of Bush, is racing towards
world war three. Attacking Iran will be the trigger. we just do not know
what the excuse to pull that trigger will be?
First, knowing what many of us fear is going to happen right here as you
are I am sure I am very concerned over Musharraf setting the example and
Declaring Martial Law so he could stay in power. We know what this will
mean to this so called war on terror but I have environmental concerns
so here it is If
you want to read about it Here is another look at the power grabbing
Pakistani
state of emergency
Anyway, as we watch the world race to war over Iran we hear the truth
spoken but of course ignored so Bush can find his excuse to attack Iran.
I know it is worthless but I thought it pretty funny when President
Carter called Bush a fool over Iran. Watch
the Video
Iran will be attacked and that will set off world war three but I want
to talk about our deteriorating environment that we are preparing to
essentially destroy. Just in America we watch every day as one part of
the country or the other is experiencing the dire consequences of our
worsening environment. We have been watching the developing water wars
between Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.not to speak of the continuing
wildfires in California, and most of the country experiencing floods,
numerous tornadoes,hurricanes, and severe heat.
This all adds up to just one more reason for Bush to have to declare
martial order himself as many of us suspect. It is very telling that
every single time in the chief idiots Presidency that Bush speaks
against something as he did in this case, he is guilty of doing it
himself or preparing too. I don't know any exception do you?
There is so much to discuss today in regard to Bush's Duplicity but I
have to discuss the Southeast's water situation as it is worse than I
thought and we haven't heard anything officially on it. I haven't even
heard it acknowledge or spoken about from the White House.
I know it is just one small town so I am sure it is of no concern to
Bush but this is related to the larger problem in the area, Alabama,
Florida, and Georgia: ORME, Tenn. (AP) — As twilight falls over this
Tennessee town, Mayor Tony Reames drives up a dusty dirt road to the
community's towering water tank and begins his nightly ritual in front
of a rusty metal valve. With a twist of the wrist, he releases the
tank's meager water supply, and suddenly this sleepy town is alive with
activity. Washing machines whir, kitchen sinks fill and showers run.
About three hours later, Reames will return and reverse the process,
cutting off water to the town's 145 residents.
The severe drought tightening like a vise across the Southeast has
threatened the water supply of cities large and small, sending
politicians scrambling for solutions. But Orme, about 40 miles west of
Chattanooga and 150 miles northwest of Atlanta, is a town where the
worst-case scenario has already come to pass: The water has run out.
The mighty waterfall that fed the mountain hamlet has been reduced to a
trickle, and now the creek running through the center of town is dry.
Three days a week, the volunteer fire chief hops in a 1961 fire truck at
5:30 a.m. — before the school bus blocks the narrow road — and
drives a few miles to an Alabama fire hydrant. He meets with another
truck from nearby New Hope, Ala. The two drivers make about a dozen runs
back and forth, hauling about 20,000 gallons of water from the hydrant
to Orme's tank. Please read A
town out of water
I am surprised nothing can be done but am concerned about the Atlanta
area and some of the things I am learning as to how bad it is and still
nothing from the White House. Persistent droughts continue to dry up
water supplies throughout the southeast, causing widespread restrictions
on usage that, in some cases, are pitting neighbors - and states -
against one another. With no end in sight, the U.S. Weather Service
reported Thursday, parts of the region could to run out of water in less
than 90 days.
Georgia, Alabama and Florida all derive most of their water supplies
from the same two reservoirs, managed by the federal Army Corps of
Engineers. While more people in Florida and Alabama tend to use more
water for farms, power plants and industry, Georgia Governor Sonny
Perdue is working to make sure that residents in his state don't wind up
high and dry.
I am hearing for the first time about lake Allatoona in Georgia,
Atlanta's secondary water supply and how important it is not only to
Georgia but Alabama, and Florida. As a result of going to Washington to
look for help as water is running out in Lake Lanier there main water
supply, Governor Perdue arrived home to more water Problems. It seems to
ne as a reward for complaining Georgia was now going to lose some water
rights to Lake Allatoona.
Maybe I am naive but this absolutely blew me away. I was stupefied to
hear that Cobb County returns 15 million gallons of treated sewage to
the Lake every single day. That sounds pretty bad to me. Is this
standard procedure? I was amazed to find this out. It seems to me that
that area must already have a severe problem if they are doing that.
Anyway as Alabama relies on Lake Allatoona as its main water supply they
were allotted more water and Georgia's allotment of the treated seage
was cut. I mean, this all just blows me away!
Cobb's water authority got pulled into the temporary agreement because
Allatoona is especially valuable to Alabama. The state takes much of its
drinking and industrial water from the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River
Basin, which feeds the lake. The basin starts in northwest Georgia and
flows to the Mobile Bay in Alabama. The
problem is worsening
We are not hearing anything about this and as I am right now listening
to what is going on in Pakistan and I can only come to the conclusion
that as Musharraf said he had to take control because there was so many
problems in the country but we know he feared losing his power, that
Bush is allowing problems to add up in America so that he can do the
same damn thing! what do you think?
I want to close with a Link to the experts saying what we already know
and that is that the climate, our environment, is our biggest security
threat and not the so called terrorists that Bush is using for his
excuse to start world war three and worse the planets condition beyond
any hopes of repair. Please
read the think tanks dire assertions
I have always held President Carter in high esteem,
so I leapt at the opportunity to do a documentary portrait of him.
I chose the book tour of Palestine Peace Not Apartheid as the
backbone of the
documentary before reading the book. I knew that with the kind of
subject matter promised by the title, there would probably be a
lot of fireworks on that journey.
I love how his un-self-censored behavior and attitudes help reveal
how authentic and deep President Carter's faith-based motivation
really is - and how terrifically complicated he is as a human
being, with such an active sense of humor, an encyclopedic
knowledge of a seeming endless array of subjects - and how
supersensitive yet bold, feisty and obstinate he can be at times -
and that he reveals how a devoted, adoring husband like him fits
so organically with the fellow who "loves the ladies."
Every time I see this film, President Carter makes me believe that
- as frightening and appalling as so many things are in the world
today - that there is nevertheless a very real possibility for
peace and better lives for future generations if we strive to
somehow get along and if we aspire to defining the upside of being
human.
- Jonathan Demme
Here is the film (directed by Jonathan Demme) webpage.
Soundtrack sounds really cool.
Check HERE
to see if it's playing near you. I'm sure it won't be around me
any time soon.
What
a busy weekend. I'm conducting my second Sitcom
Room seminar at the glorious Embassy Suites at LAX and
preparing to strike. The object of the Sitcom Room is to
give young writers the chance to really experience what's
it like being in a writing room under actual rewrite night
conditions. I plan on preparing them with vital survival
secrets. Here's what you'd be learning if you were in the
class:
To be a TV comedy writer
you have to have thick skin. Generally you’re in a room
with other comedy writers, all neurotics, competing
against each other to get your ideas or jokes in the
script. Eight puppies and one sock.Many
times you’ll pitch a joke that doesn’t get a laugh or
doesn’t get in. You’re out there with egg on your
face. I find it’s best to develop a series of savers. As
a public service, here are a few I use. (Note: if you find
yourself using all of these in a five minute span consider
other employment).
*******
Hey guys, don’t all hoist me on your shoulders at once!
Okay, but you’re denying America pleasure.
Oh God, it’s my prom night all over again.
If Jon Stewart pitched that you’d put it right in.
I hear laughter but I don’t see the pencil moving.
Okay, don’t see your kids tonight. Stay all night. I’m
doing this for you.
Some thanks I get.
Sure, it’s not funny when I
say it. But when (actor) says it…
You’re only mad because you didn’t think of it first.
Nurse! They’re being mean to me again!
The laugh machine will LOVE it.
I bet at COLD CASE they’d be hysterical.
Fine. I wasn’t meant to be appreciated in my time.
I don’t feel the love, you assholes.
You try being
funny when you’re having a stroke.
See it typed. You’ll think differently.
Okay, what if they said it in a funny accent?
I’m sorry. Are there no more seats at the Algonquin
Round Table?
So you’re saying perfection isn’t good enough?
Hey, you hired
me!
(In Forghorn Leghorn voice) I
say, I say, I keep pitchin’ ‘em, boy, and you keep
missin’ ‘em.
Jesus, people, doesn’t ANYTHING make you laugh?
You all remember. I used to be funny, right?
And of course, the ultimate saver and perennial crowd
pleaser – Go fuck yourself.
Great daze ahead
From Grace Nearing for Scriptoids
Great daze ahead of appalling campaign coverage. Does Tucker
Carlson really have a castration complex? He sure seems to whenever
he’s talking about Hillary Clinton on the air. When the topic is
Hillary, Carlson admits to shielding
his crotch. One way or another, that boy's gots problems with his
boys.
This is from his Thursday
night, just-a-couple-of-white-guys-talking-about-Hillary
discussion with Bill Press.
CARLSON: I mean I think whenever [Hillary
Clinton] appears tough, I think it‘s good for her. I think she
actually is tough. But the one thing we learned from the Lorena
Bobbitt case is there‘s a great deal of resentment among women
aimed at men. That‘s why Oprah is huge. I mean women are angry...
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: I‘m serious. Women are angry at men in a lot of ways.
(LAUGHTER).
CARLSON: They don‘t say much about it, but they are.
PRESS: Wait a minute. Whoa.
CARLSON: And she‘s pandering to that resentment and anger. And
it‘s wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
PRESS: I think men have a reason to be angry at women based on what
Lorena Bobbitt did.
CARLSON: Well, I couldn‘t agree with you more.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: No man would ever defend the corollary. But women are like,
oh, I understand why Lorena did that.
PRESS: I know what...
CARLSON: I mean they‘re really mad and she‘s taking advantage of
it.
PRESS: I wouldn‘t—that‘s not the analogy I would make.
Well no, that’s not an analogy any emotionally healthy and/or
competent political analyst would make. But then again, Tucker Carlson
is neither.
##
Great daze ahead in Defense Reutilization and Marketing.
Don’t tell me Rumsfeld didn’t think of that term. From Stars
& Stripes comes this little gem.
Camp Victory, Iraq, Oct. 31, 2007 – A
signing ceremony at the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office
here yesterday marked the start of a Multinational Force Iraq
initiative to improve the living standards of area citizens through
increased employment opportunities.
The Iraqi Business, or I-BIZ, program aims to engage local
contractors by hiring local Iraqis to perform supervised work on
bases throughout the country.
“This is a great effort to employ local Iraqis and support our
‘Iraqis First’ policy. It combines our desire to
appropriately demilitarize and dispose of items that are no longer
economically repairable with our intent to put more Iraqis to work,”
said Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson, deputy chief of staff for resources
and sustainment, during the kick-off ceremony.
A big ceremony and a kicky moniker for “the first great effort” to
hire some Iraqis for bulky waste disposal. Oh, and I-BIZ already is
the name for Israel
Business Information Services Ltd., which, according to its
website, is “Israel's leading supplier of value-added intelligence
and analysis on the Israeli and global economies and financial
markets.” Apparently, commissioned officers don’t know how to
google.
And
here’s the photo from the kick-ass kick-off ceremony. Note the presence
absence of Iraqis.
##
Great daze ahead in trying to get the fuck out of Iraq. Mother
Jones takes a
hard look at the moral dilemmas of leaving -- or staying -- in
Iraq that features conversations with more than 50 experts, from
General Petraeus' advisers to antiwar activists.
There are no good options in Iraq, but
the options narrow to the horrific the longer our leaders dawdle….
So what is to be done? First and foremost, anyone running for or
holding national office must be forced to answer these questions:
What's your schedule for withdrawal, and what consequences do you
foresee? Which comes first—withdrawal, a functioning Iraqi
government, or a solid international peacekeeping force? What
concessions would you make to get Iraq's neighbors to help? What
degree of bloodshed are you prepared to stand by and watch?
[Mother Jones] put such questions to five dozen military men,
think-tankers, peace activists, academics, and politicians. Some of
their responses follow….[Some] refused to respond—including the
architects of the war, leading presidential candidates, and the
congressional leadership. Some, it should be noted, begged off
because they were taking a summer break, even as Iraqi politicians
were being criticized for doing the same.
We hope that if we can't force them to reckon with reality, you can.
"It's so hard for me to listen
to you, I hate you all so much!" partie deux
By Randal Graves for L'ennui
mélodieux
Why waste valuable brain power coming up with a clever title when
you can recycle one that fits perfectly? And it is
true. I
do hate you all. SO
MUCH. We already knew that with Dianne
having sweaty, hot and heavy trysts with the military-industrial
complex on a regular basis, her response was not at all surprising.
Holy Joe with breasts. But you, Chuckles, explain yourself:
“I deeply esteem those who believe the issue of torture is so
paramount that Judge Mukasey’s views on it should be the sole
determinant of our vote,” Schumer said in a statement. “But I
must respectfully disagree.
“The Justice Department is a shambles: politicized and
demoralized. The belief and hope [is] that Justice Mukasey, with his
experience, independence and integrity, can restore the department
motivates my vote.”
Hang on a second, mes amis, and just let me type this up and feed it
into the Universal Congress-O-Speak-To-English Translator.
*buzz*
*whirr*
*clang!*
Dammit, work, you cheap ass Chinese import!
*zap*
*bing!*
Ah, here we are. Let's see what it says:
"If you inbred activist-y MoveOn and Code Pink types are stupid
enough to think that we'd even broach saving the torn, battered,
ripped-up, shredded, violated, bruised, cut, chainsawed,
hacked-to-bits American soul and dare
bring down the ire of the Very Serious who might label us - gasp! -
weak on terrorism, then you're all one colossal blob of naive
idiots.
Our friends on the other side of the aisle are happy because he
refused to answer on the constitutionality of torture thereby
permitting it to go on unabated, and we're happy because then we
didn't have to do our jobs which gave us more time to score some
juicy lobbying bucks. Oh yeah, belief and hope and unicorns and
leprechauns and pots of gold and - what? Yes, Mr. Bush, I still have
one vertebra left. No, you said I could keep it as a memento! Why do
you want it now? Oh, alright Mr. Bush, I'll bring it over. Gee
whiz."
Even lefty blogosphere hero Russ Feingold remains undecided.
Hate.
It's Better To Be Dead Than Gay,
According To Mitt Romney!!
From ParisL0ve2 for I
Wish I Were In Paris
Screw being polite. I'm
done keeping my mouth shut. This piece of shit wants to be
President of this country, and he's out there touting the idea
that it's better to be a dead parent than a gay parent. Isn't
that a great message that he's sending to children? He's
telling them that it would be better for them if their mommy
or daddy were STRAIGHT and DEAD
instead of being GAY and ALIVE.
Nice!! What a scum sucking piece of shit!! Man, these
religious assholes make me sick!!
Dead parents
better than gay ones says Romney
A candidate for the Republican party nomination for
President of the United States has said that he thinks a
child would be better off with a dead parent rather than a
gay one.
Mitt Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts, was
speaking at a college in rural Iowa.
Asked what he would say to a gay couple wanting to get
married, he pointed out his support for a change to the US
Constitution to bar gay and lesbian Americans from marriage.
"I believe that maintaining the strength of the
marriage relationship, the family relationship, is critical
to the strength of an entire society," he said,
according to Rocky Mountain News.
"And I believe that the development of children is
enhanced by having a male and a female as part of their
upbringing in their home.
"Even when there's a divorce, you still have a mom and
a dad.
"And even where one member of the partnership may pass
away, the memory and the characteristics of that gender, of
that partner influence the development of a child.
"I'm in favour of promoting, as a society, the marriage
of men and women and the development of children in that
kind of setting."
Mr Romney is attempting to portray himself as more
conservative than his Republican opponents on the issue of
gay marriage.
The leading candidate, former Mayor of New York Rudy
Guiliani, is pro-gay rights.
Massachusetts is the only state in America to have legalised
gay marriage.
This was not the work of Mr Romney, a Mormon who once worked
as a missionary in France.
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts established the right of
gay and lesbian couples to marry.
American liberals are worried about the candidacy of a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormons believe that homosexuality, and homosexual desire,
are sinful.
The church has opposed all efforts in America to legalise
same-sex marriage or civil unions.
Mr Romney has experience in state government and in
business: he was the CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt
Lake City.
However, he has no experience in Congress, or international
politics.
This may not be a barrier, as four out of the last five
Presidents have come to Washington straight from state
politics.
Last December it was revealed that Mr Romney once courted
the gay community for their support in a 1994 campaign for
the US Senate.
In a letter, published by Massachusetts newspaper Bay
Windows, he promises to represent his gay and lesbian
constituents.
"I think the gay community needs more support from the
Republican Party, and I would be a voice in the Republican
Party to foster anti-discrimination efforts," he wrote.
The revelation angered conservatives in the US.
The Republican candidate will be announced at the party's
convention at the start of September 2008.
The Presidential election will be held on 4th November 2008
and a new President will take office on 20th January 2009.
He can take his religion
and shove it straight up his ass. The closest he'll ever get
to becoming President is if he ever decides that he wants to
be the IOC President. Even then, nobody would vote for that
piece of trash!!
I will take some pictures of my own and post them
here during the next day or two.
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seemingly superhuman feats they are capable of. Take a look at the Parkour
Training
Blog and tell me you're not impressed.
Peace of
Jerusalem or More GOP/Theocon War?
From TomCat for Politics
Plus
Utopian fantasies have long transfixed the human race.
Yet today a much rarer fantasy has become popular in
the United States. Millions of Americans, the richest
people in history, have a death wish. They are the new
"Armageddonites," fundamentalist
evangelicals who have moved from forecasting
Armageddon to actually trying to bring it about.
Most journalists find it difficult to take
seriously that tens of millions of Americans, filled
with fantasies of revenge and empowerment, long to
leave a world they despise. These
Armageddonites believe that they alone will get a
quick, free pass when they are "raptured" to
paradise, no good deeds necessary, not even a
day of judgment. Ironically, they share this
utopian fantasy with a group that they often
castigate, namely fundamentalist Muslims who believe
that dying in battle also means direct access to
Heaven. For the Armageddonites, however,
there are no waiting virgins, but they do agree with
Muslims that there will be "no booze, no
bars," in the words of a popular Gaither Singers
song.
These end-timers have great influence over
the U.S. government's foreign policy. They
are thick with the Republican leadership. At a recent
conference in Washington, congressional leader Roy
Blunt, for example, has said that their work is
"part of God's plan." At the same
meeting, where speakers promoted attacking Iran, former
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay glorified "end
times." Indeed the Bush administration
often consults with them on Mideast policies. The
organizer of the conference, Rev. John Hagee, is often
welcomed at the White House, although his ratings are
among the lowest on integrity and transparency by
Ministry Watch, which rates religious broadcasters.
He raises millions of dollars from his
campaign supporting Israeli settlements on the West
Bank, including much for himself. Erstwhile
presidential candidate Gary Bauer is on his Board of
Directors. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson
also both expressed strong end-times beliefs.
American fundamentalists strongly supported the
decision to invade Iraq in 2003. They consistently
support Israel's hard-line policies. And they are
beating the drums for war against Iran. Thanks to
these end-timers, American foreign policy has turned
much of the world against us, including most Muslims,
nearly a quarter of the human race... [emphasis
added]
First of all, let me say that
these Pharisees and Sadducees represent authentic
Christianity about as much as GW Bush and the GOP
represent compassionate conservatism.
There is no compassion to be found in Bush or the GOP,
one will not find Christ in the Religious Right's
doctrines of damnation.
The very notion of a pretribulation
rapture was never part of Christian theology
prior to 1832, when John Nelson Darby, a former
priest, who not surprisingly, had studied law, not
theology. The doctrine took off, because it
offers a get out of tribulation free card to
vengeful hypocrites. Perhaps what's most amazing
is that these self-serving money grubbers embrace his
doctrine, while completely ignoring the other
foundation of Darby's theology: the
very notion of a clergyman was the sin against the
Holy Spirit, because it limited the recognition that
the Holy Spirit could speak through any member of the
Church. Therefore,
should not Hagee, Robertson, Dobson and and all these
preachers, whose pockets are bloated with their
congregants' contributions step down form their
self-exalted positions?
Are not believers exhorted to
pray for the peace of Jerusalem? (Ps. 122:6)
Then who are are these theocons who not only fail to
do so, but also work to embroil Jerusalem in war?
My God is not a warmonger!
Tonight, as he was signing off, MSNBC's Tucker
Carlson closed by saying, "That
does it for us. Thank you for watching as
always, we mean that sincerely to all eight of
you. We'll be back Monday. Up next,
"Hardball" with Chris Matthews. Have a
great weekend."
A TVNewser tipster tells us "MSNBC
management [is] infuriated" at Tucker's
flippant sign-off.
Maybe they'll make him stand in the corner...of
the Countdownset.
And Tucker underestimates his viewership by a
factor of 10,000. His 10-day average in
the A25-54 demo is 80,000.He
finished in third on seven of those
days, and fourth, behind
Headline News, on three days.
Ouch.
One more note: on Monday Tucker has a
new 6pmET competitor: the third hour of the
Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on CNN
moves back an hour from 7pm to 6pm.
Recently
Linda
Ellerbee ran a segment on Nickelodeon that showed just what
Power and Responsibility Citizenship entails. This segment also
profiled American
Hero Ava of "Peace Takes Courage". Since this
segment was not approved by the MSM and Michelle Malkin she
has decided to unleash her deluded followers on Nickelodeon,
Viacom and Hasbro, one of the sponsors of Linda Ellerbee's
segments. So as to make sure Nickelodeon and Hasbro does not hear
just the Sick Far Right's opinion on this, I contacted Nickelodeon
and Hasbro via the info supplied by the Hate Site's of "ArmyWifeToddlerMom"(ahh
if only we could go back to the 50's eh?) and Michelle Malkin.
And
here’s the photo from the kick-ass kick-off ceremony. Note the 
