Celestial Reasoning

John Cusack Gives the Bush-McCain Challenge

2008-09-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

Saturday Night Live - Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton

2008-09-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

Can We Trust John McCain

2008-09-22T12:43:00.001-04:00

IMPEACH CHENEY

2008-01-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

Shh-Speak up: We Rave - Senior's Guide to Computers

2007-04-06T22:40:00.000-04:00

Shh-Speak up: We Rave - Senior's Guide to Computers

Why Americans are Fat Slobs...

2007-04-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

THE AMERICAN TREADMILL

Vote for the Worst - Sanjaya Will Be The Next American Idol

2007-03-31T08:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the web site, Vote For The Worst, Sanjaya Malakar will be the next American Idol.

He can't hit the right notes, doesn't know when to quit, doesn't care what people think of him, lives in Washington, DC, and doesn't care about the needs of his audience.

Votefortheworst.com will definitely put this loser in power.

After all, it worked previously in 2000 and 2004.

Senior's Guide to Computers

2007-02-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

Bits? Bytes? MP3s? RAM? Internet? Email? Windows? CPU?

Do any of the above terms seem confusing?
Does looking at them give you a dull pain between your ears?
Does sending an email seem like a major accomplishment?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions then a new web site called "Senior's Guide to Computers" is for you. For those of you who are entering the information super highway late in life and have children or grandchildren who know more about computers than Perdue knows about chicken, then check out "Senior's Guide to Computers". It's also perfect for computer beginners of all ages!

A project designed and written by Web Developer, Jeff Mayer, "Senior's Guide to Computers" is designed to teach senior citizens, kids, moms and dads all about computers. Learn the ins and outs of personal computers using examples, pictures, videos and descriptions actually written in easy-to-understand English.

Numerous articles cover every area necessary to turn your computer from a $1,000 paperweight to a valuable tool for productivity, communication, business, entertainment and much more.

Topics covered:

The Basics:
An overview of the main parts of a personal computer (PC) as it relates to your own physical office.

Accessibility:
How to set up a computer for individuals with vision and other disabilities.

* Accessibility Wizard * Color Vision Deficiency * Keyboard setup * Magnifier * Monitor setup * Mouse setup * Narrator * On-Screen Keyboard * Utility Manager * Voice Recognition Software

Backing up your data:
Probably the single most important task you'll perform.

* Benefits of offline storage * External hard drives * Making copies of your personal data to CDs and DVDs * Making images of an entire drive * Reviews of different backup software

Email:

* Email programs * Email attachments * How to handle spam * Phishing schemes * Safe email practices * Web-based email

Hardware:

* CD/DVD burners * Hard Drive storage * Keyboards * Memory * Mice * Monitors

Internet:

* Web Browsers: * Connection types: * Safe surfing * Search engines * Settings

Security:

* Anti-spyware software * Anti-virus software * Hardware Firewalls * Online banking * Online shopping * Software Firewalls * Windows Service Pack 2 * Windows Update * Windows user accounts

Software:

* Financial * Free alternatives * Office Suites * Photo Management

Plus there is an invaluable Senior's Guide to Computers Resource Center" featuring basic self-help computer guides, books, and software and hardware reviews. In addition, you will find links to other web sites with more detailed information. New and updated information is added to the Guide on an ongoing basis.

www.seniorsguidetocomputers.com

WANT TO HELP KILL OUR TROOPS OR DESTROY OUR ENVIRONMENT? - THEN BUY A DELL COMPUTER

2006-12-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

If you want to financially support the politicians who are determined to prolong this immoral and illegal war in Iraq, destroy the environment, and defile our Constitution then buy a brand new Dell computer.

Michael Dell contributes large sums of your money to George Bush and many other republican hoodlums. Purchasing a computer from Michael Dell will help put more U.S. troops in harms way thereby causing more deaths.

Here's just a few of the criminals Dell gives your money to:

Congressman Dennis Hastert (R) IL - Recommended that New Orleans be bulldozed. Made a $2 million profit on the sale of land several miles away from a highway project called the Prairie Parkway for which he secured $207 million in federal funds. In 2004, Rep. Hastert established a trust through which he and his business partners purchased 69 acres of land for $340,000, which provided road access to his farm that had been landlocked. In 2005, Rep. Hastert transferred this land from his farm to the trust. Then, during House and Senate negotiations over the highway authorization bill, Rep. Hastert added $152 million to help build a highway project and $55 million for an interchange several miles from his property. Four months after the legislation was signed, the trust sold Rep. Hastert’s parcels for nearly $5 million to a real estate development firm. By earmarking money to improve the value of his land, Rep. Hastert violated House rules prohibiting taking official action for the prospect of personal gain.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R) UT - who suggested that people who download copyrighted materials from the Internet should have their computers automatically destroyed.

Congressman Tom Delay (R) TX - Indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges of criminally conspiring with two political associates to inject illegal corporate contributions into 2002 state elections that helped the Republican Party reorder the congressional map in Texas and cement its control of the House in Washington.

Senator Rick Santorum (R) PA - During his freshman term, he started holding hands with the Abramoff lobbying group. Over the years, money has been funneled to Santorum's campaign war chest through various Abramoff back channels.

Representative Pete Sessions (R) TX - In 2001-2002, Rep. Sessions co-signed letters to administration officials to benefit casino clients of Jack Abramoff. In return, within 18 months of sending the letters, Rep. Sessions received a total of $20,500 from Native American tribes associated with Abramoff. In January 2002, Rep. Sessions traveled to Malaysia with two of Mr. Abramoff’s former co-workers. The trip allegedly was sponsored by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies and a Malaysian think tank. Various reports suggest that a Malaysian client secretly paid Mr. Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, an associate of Mr. Abramoff, through a sham think tank that Mr. Scanlon created, the American International Center. The trip violates House rules which prohibit Members from accepting campaign contributions and travel expenses from foreign agents and lobbyists.

Senator George Allen (R) VA - One of George Allen’s old college football teammates said that Allen used to call black people “niggers”.

Representative Lamar Smith (R) TX - voted against cracking down on the oil and gas industries price gouging, who voted for the GOP energy bill that gave billions to oil, gas and nuclear industries. Big oil and gas industries have given Rep. Smith $290,622.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) TX - the first U.S. senator from Texas to come under criminal indictment.

Congressman Joe Barton (R) TX - responsible for 2005's Gasoline for America's Security Act that doled out money by the billions to his patrons in the oil business.

Congressman Michael McCaul (R) TX - voted for the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (a.k.a. The Torture Bill).

Congressman Henry Bonilla (R) TX - voted against cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. The U.S. Justice Department investigated Bonilla, who employed an illegal immigrant as a live-in nanny for seven years and failed to pay taxes or Social Security on his employee's wages.

Representative James Sensenbrenner (R) WI - Over 500,000 people filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles to march against HR 4437, a bill authored by Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner (heir to the Kotex fortune) which would turn 11 million undocumented immigrants into felons, punish anyone guilty of providing them assistance, and construct an iron wall between the US and Mexico.

Representative Michael Oxley (R) OH - The primary beneficiary of more than 75 fundraisers held by Freddie Mac lobbyist Mitch Delk that netted more than $3 million according to a document that was divulged during the investigation of Freddie Mac’s campaign finance activities. The Federal Election Commission eventually fined Freddie Mac $3.8 million. 90 percent of the events were hosted by Mitch Delk to benefit Representative Oxley.

Senator Richard Burr (R) NC - supports raising taxes on 3.6 million Americans by blocking Democratic efforts to extend the college tuition tax deduction.

Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R) NM -
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding.
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent.
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana.
Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges.
Voted YES on allowing school prayer.
Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy.
Voted NO on raising CAFE standards and incentives for alternative fuels.
Voted NO on prohibiting oil drilling and development in Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve.
Voted YES on approving forest thinning.
Voted YES on reducing liability for hazardous waste cleanup.
Voted NO on campaign finance reform banning soft-money contributions.
Voted YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1.
Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients.
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight.
Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses.
Voted YES on reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends.
Voted YES on making the Bush tax cuts permanent.
Voted YES on increasing fines for indecent broadcasting.
Voted YES on approving removal of Saddam.
Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq.

Senator Michael Crapo (R) ID -
Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
Voted YES on loosening restrictions on wiretapping.
Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
Voted YES to broaden use of death penalty and on making federal death penalty appeals harder.
Voted YES on School Prayer Amendment.
Voted NO on $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas.
Voted NO on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%).
Voted NO on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Voted YES on confirming Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior.
Voted YES on allowing lobbyist gifts to Congress.
Voted NO on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity (an oxymoron?).
Voted NO on background checks at gun shows.
Voted NO on including prescription drugs under Medicare.
Voted NO on raising the minimum wage.
Voted YES on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends.
Voted NO on increasing tax deductions for college tuition.
Voted NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007.
Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq.

Senator Norm Coleman (R) MN - Claim to fame is 81 year old father who was busted for having sex in public.

PLUS: Republican National Committee - donated over $250,000

The new selection of Gateway computers is just as good as Dell and will allow you to sleep at night. Or build your own computer -- it's a lot of fun!

APOLOGY TO AMERICA

2006-11-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

As the events of the last six years unfolded, I felt that the majority of the American people had little hope of realizing the truth and overcoming ignorance. It seemed that folks were comfortable with:

1. A lying, corrupt, cowardly president.
2. Torturing prisoners, illegal wiretapping, eliminating civil rights and basically disregarding the Constitution.
3. Banning stem cell research.
4. Ignoring the human rights of gay individuals.
5. Supporting an illegal and immoral war in order to increase personal wealth (as in Haliburton).
6. Raping health care and prescription coverage for financial gain.
7. Ensuring that the religious right-wing wackos are allowed to exert undue influence on government.
8. Maintaining the pitiful state of our educational system.
9. The deliberate destruction of New Orleans because the people were not part of the president's "base".
10. Destroying the environment in order to line the pockets of the president's corporate cronies.

On November 8, 2006 the American people (at least 40% of the eligible voters -- a 1% increase over 2004) -- wrested control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Is it possible that the wheels of change are finally starting to turn? To answer that question, consider the following:

1. Missouri listened to Michael J. Fox and voted to support stem cell research and newly-elected Senator Claire McCaskill.
2. Arizona rejected a ban on same-sex marriages.
3. 28 of our 50 governors are now Democrats.
4. South Dakota rejected the abortion ban.
5. Highest turnout of voters aged 18-30 in twenty years.
6. First woman Speaker of the House - Nancy Pelosi (I thought my wife had the job first?)
7. RUMSFELD FORCED TO RESIGN!
8. RUMSFELD FORCED TO RESIGN!
9. RUMSFELD FORCED TO RESIGN!

Just when I thought I had to move to Canada with Alec Baldwin, the American people came through and delivered a technical knockout to President Chimpy McFlightsuit. Let's not stop now -- let's hit them while they're down. We need hearings, investigations, indictments and dare I say it? IMPEACHMENT!

If the repuglicans thought they were justified in impeaching President Clinton just because he had his knob polished then Dubya is definitely owed an impeachment.

If that fails, I bet for a gram of crystal meth that we could get Rev. Ted Haggard to obtain some presidential DNA on his blue dress for us. What's good for the goose.......

So America...I apologize.
On to 2008...
GORE/OBAMA

Limbaugh on Michael J. Fox ad for MO Dem: "Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting"

2006-10-25T08:47:00.000-04:00

Rush Limbaugh accused actor Michael J. Fox, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, of "exaggerating the effects of the disease" in a recent campaign advertisement for Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill. Limbaugh added that "this is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting, one of the two."

Rush should know. He's the expert on taking medication.

Shameless, Rush? What's really shameless is selling expensive subscriptions for your online radio show to our troops in Iraq. You say you support the troops. Since they're sending money to you, I'd say the troops are supporting you.

You're the most dangerous kind of right-wing republican shill... one that many people take seriously. At least Ann Coulter is funny.

Link to Michael J. Fox video

Grace Slick dedicates Virgin America jet

2006-10-12T20:48:00.000-04:00

Rock icon Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane was on hand Wednesday to dedicate Virgin America Inc.'s new corporate headquarters and an aircraft named after the legendary 1960's band.

The "Jefferson Airplane" is the first of Virgin America's new fleet to be named. The company has invited the public to submit entries to name its other planes.

Check out her photo - I hate when great rockers grow old.

digg story

Howard Stern is the Father of Anna Nicole Smith's Baby?

2006-09-27T10:50:00.000-04:00

An attorney representing former Playboy Playmate and reality television star Anna Nicole Smith said he is the father of her daughter, born earlier this month in the Bahamas.

Howard K. Stern added that he plans to marry Smith.

Howard K. Smith? Figures the stupid woman would marry the wrong Howard Stern.

Stern said he and Smith are confident he is the father.

I wonder which one of them is not sure?

Entertainment reporter and photographer Larry Birkhead also claims to be the father of the girl, named Danilynne Hope. In a statement, Birkhead said Smith told him he is the child's father, and that he has proof.

It better be a video -- they have a college education to pay for.

Stern said he and Smith plan to marry "at some point. Right now we have to somehow get through what we're going through."

The baby, he said, "is the one ray of hope. It's the one thing that's really keeping her going."

The Biggest Terrorist of All Time

2006-09-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

I know that the current administration has long since given up on finding Osama Bin Laden. But what are we doing to bring the world's biggest terrorist to justice?

I'm surprised that the news media has not made more noise about this man's reign of terror. As of 9/13/06, he has murdered a minimum of 44,532 people. Some sources estimate the total to be as high as 49,209.

That's 17 times more deaths than Osama Bin Laden is responsible for.

Let's look at the facts:
Deaths	Wounded	Where
2,792 (civilian)	2,261	World Trade Center
2,672 (military) 41,860 (civilian)	19,910	Iraq

We don't know where Bin Laden is but we know where this scumbag is at all times. And it won't cost lives or money to find him. Let's send him to Iraq for trial today.

Iraq Coalition Casualty Count

Paris Hilton Bitten by Kinky Jew

2006-08-13T09:28:00.000-04:00

Paris Hilton got no love this week from her pet Kinky Jew Baby Luv - in fact, the racoon-like animal bit her. The heiress was not badly hurt but did visit a hospital emergency room to receive a tetanus shot, her publicist, Elliot Mintz, told The Associated Press on Friday.

Hilton was frolicking with her exotic pet early Tuesday morning "the way some people play with their cats and dogs" when the animal became excited, Mintz said. It is a known fact that Kinky Jews are easily excited.

"Baby Luv bit her. It's a superficial bite on her left arm," he said.

Hilton, concerned that she was bleeding, called Mintz at 3 a.m., and he took her to the hospital.

"She was seen by a doctor, who treated the wound, gave her a tetanus shot, cleaned the wound and applied something to it," Mintz said. Mintz said Hilton's arm did not appear to be swollen the next day.

The Kinky Jew, Baby Luv was checked out by a veterinarian Wednesday.

"I don't view Kinky Jews as aggressive animals. The same kind of thing could have occurred with her German Shepherd," Mintz said.

Upon hearing Mr. Mintz's statement, the Kinky Jew screamed "never again!". The German Shepherd's response was "I vas only following orders".

James Dobson lends support to Mel Gibson

2006-08-11T23:20:00.000-04:00

Focus on the Family ministry founder James Dobson spoke in support Thursday of Mel Gibson and his film, The Passion of the Christ, saying Gibson's drunken tirade during a traffic stop had nothing to do with "one of the finest films of this era." Mr. Dobson applauds this violent film because it supports his own anti-Jewish preachings. He also enjoyed Halloween until he found out that Michael Myers wasn't Jewish.

Gibson, 50, who was arrested for drunken driving Aug. 1 in Malibu, California, launched an anti-Semitic rant toward the arresting deputy. Gibson said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked him, "Are you a Jew?" He also called the female deputy "Sugar tits".

"Mel has also indicated his willingness to seek help to overcome his alcoholism, and has asked the Jewish community for forgiveness," Dobson said. "What more can he do?" Well, Mel can show his support for the Jews by getting a circumcision and placing his nazi father in a Jewish nursing home.

James Dobson is one of the worse hate-mongering bigots of our age. He is a co-founder of the "Focus on the Family" cult which uses its tax-exemption status to further its anti-woman, anti-gay, religious right agenda. His anti-semitic viewpoints go hand-in-hand with his defense of the Jew-hating Mel Gibson and his anti-semitic film.

Gibson has had a troubled relationship with Jewish organizations since his violent 2004 blockbuster about the crucifixion, which was criticized for portraying Jews as responsible for Jesus' death. Supporters, including Dobson, say the movie followed the Gospel story.

Mr. Dobson was also puzzled that Mr. Gibson knew Mrs. Dobson's pet name.

Guilty By Reason of Insanity

2006-07-27T08:18:00.000-04:00

Jurors in Andrea Yates’ murder retrial returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Earlier Wednesday jurors asked to see a family photo and candid pictures of her five smiling youngsters taken before she drowned them in the family bathtub.

Soon after arriving at the courthouse, the jury of six men and six women also reviewed the state’s definition of insanity: that someone, because of a severe mental illness, does not know a crime he is committing is wrong.

Why is the verdict "not guilty by reason of insanity"? Shouldn't it be "guilty by reason of insanity"? We should be able to find someone guilty and still confine them to a mental facility for the rest of their life. The fact that Andrea Yates could conceivably be set free someday is unacceptable to me. Perhaps if she drowned one child, I could be persuaded to buy the temporary insanity defense. But Andrea Yates took her time and methodically drowned all FIVE of her children.

This current prosecution only charged Anndrea Yates with the murders of three of her children. Since there is no statute of limitations on murder, we can only hope that the prosecution is saving the remaining two murder, charges in case Ms. Yates is ever releaased.

Soldiers Words May Test PBS Language Rules

2006-07-22T08:04:00.000-04:00

The PBS documentarian Ken Burns has been working for six years on "The War" a soldier's-eye view of World War II, and those who have seen parts of the 14-plus hours say they are replete with salty language appropriate to discussions of the horrors of war. What viewers will see and hear when it is broadcast in Sept. 2007 is an open question.

A new Public Broadcasting Service policy that went into effect immediately when it was issued on May 31 requires producers whose shows are broadcast before 10 p.m. to adhere to tough editing requirements when it comes to coarse language, to comply with tightened rulings on broadcast indecency by the Federal Communications Commission.

Most notably, PBS’s deputy counsel, Paul Greco, wrote in a memo to stations, it is no longer enough simply to bleep out offensive words audibly when the camera shows a full view of the speaker’s mouth. From now on, the on-camera speaker’s mouth must also be obscured by a digital masking process, a solution that PBS producers have called cartoonish and clumsy.

What is this country reverting into? I guess it's ok for the chimp-in-chief to say "Syria and Lebanon gotta stop this shit" on network television and get away with it. Why isn't this moron fined?

"The War" is a 14 hour record of real life heroes filmed by one of the best documentarians of our time. These men risked their lives for this country. They didn't have their daddies get them into the reserves in order to avoid combat only to go AWOL anyway. I, for one, want to hear what they have to say in their own words without fuzzy pixelation covering their mouths. Although I wouldn't mind using these devices whenever president chimpo opens his lying mouth. Anything dubya has to say is what's really obscene.

What the President Did Today

2006-07-20T08:26:00.000-04:00

This is an email I received from Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

This is no longer a Republican or Democratic issue. This is about one man putting his own corrupt political agenda over the health and happiness of millions of people.

"Dear JEFFREY,

Today George Bush chose political posturing over human life, denying hope to millions of Americans, their families and loved ones who are affected by debilitating diseases.

He used his first-ever veto to stop the discovery of new cures for diseases like juvenile diabetes, leukemia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and many others. More than 70% of Americans from every walk of life -- whether in the faith community, the science lab, the hospital or at the bedside of a sick relative -- and majorities in both chambers of Congress disagree, but that didn't stop him.

The bill he vetoed wasn't a sweeping change -- it was a small, practical measure that would have made a big difference for medical research based on sound science. But the consequences are sweeping: the proposed law would have allowed research on excess embryos generated during processes like fertility treatments -- embryos that would otherwise simply be discarded.

Now is the time to speak out. Send a message to your representatives letting them know that you support cure discovery now:

http://www.democrats.org/curediscovery

If George Bush truly believed his rhetoric about stem cells, he would do something about the processes that create the excess embryos in the first place. But he won't. They will continue to go unused (his spokesman limply calls it a "tragedy"), and cures will continue to be beyond our reach.

Bush may not be willing to choose cure discovery over his right-wing base, but the vast majority of Americans support cure research.

Even after his veto, Democrats in Congress will continue to keep the pressure on to get more votes. If Republicans refuse to join the cause and override Bush's veto, it will have to be decided at the ballot box in November. Democrats will continue to fight to keep this hope for the discovery of new cures alive.

The Congress and the rest of the country are paying attention right now, and we have to seize this moment to build the coalition of support for cure discovery. Please add your name to the list of supporters and we'll send your message to your representatives:

http://www.democrats.org/curediscovery

As a medical doctor, I'm offended at the political meddling in potentially life-saving research. All of our families could be touched by hope found through stem cell research: from juvenile diabetes to Alzheimer's, it offers the opportunity for new cures. Yet this important research has been dwindling because of restrictions put in place by Bush five years ago.

That's half a decade we have lost. How much longer will those suffering and their families have to wait?

People can disagree in good faith on this issue, but Bush's extraordinary action doesn't meet that threshold -- it smacks of political calculation. The opportunity to save lives of people with debilitating diseases, and to reduce suffering for them and their families, requires that a president respect the will of the people and the Congress.

Join the cause supporting cure discovery:

http://www.democrats.org/curediscovery

History will judge this veto as a sad political calculation.

Just a few votes stand in the way. With your support we'll get them -- either now, or in the new Democratic Congress you elect in November.

When we do, we will restore hope through life-saving research and cure discovery.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D."

Barry Manilow sends park hooligans fleeing, angers nearby residents

2006-07-19T08:40:00.000-04:00

To rid a park of hooligans in a Sydney suburb, the town council began playing Barry Manilow and Doris Day music at high volume from 9-midnight every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening. The tactic worked, but now the people who live near the park can't sleep at night and are unhappy about it.

They should be grateful. The council could have gone for the jugular by using Michael Bolton.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

2006-07-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

Pink Floyd has lost its "crazy diamond."

Syd Barrett, the brilliant, erratic catalyst for Floyd's early success, "died peacefully at home". He was 60 years old. The musician had been in ill health for years, battling diabetes, as well as stomach ulcers.

A singer and guitarist, and originally the band's principal songwriter, Barrett masterminded Pink Floyd's breakthrough album, Pipers at the Gates of Dawn, before being sidelined in the late 1960s by behavioral problems.

Barrett teamed with bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright to launch Floyd in 1965, deriving the name from two bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

Barrett fronted the band during its initial rise to fame, culminating with the 1967 classic The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which mixed jazz, rock and R&B with psychedelia--a template for the prog-rock sound the band refined in its 1970s heyday--and propelled Floyd to stardom.

But Barrett couldn't enjoy the band's triumphs. He began to suffer from increasingly severe mental problems brought on by his heavy use of LSD and mood-altering drugs, frequently faltering during concerts.

In January 1968, his Floyd mates invited friend and fellow guitarist-vocalist David Gilmour to take over playing Barrett's parts during live shows, but with the understanding that Barrett would continue writing and recording songs.

Ultimately though, as Barrett grew increasingly unpredictable and his musical output dwindled, he was booted from the band. Only one track he wrote, "Jugband Blues," made it onto Floyd's second album, 1968's A Saucerful of Secrets.

There has been much speculation concerning the psychological well-being of Syd Barrett. Many believe he suffered from schizophrenia, though he didn't totally fit the typical profile for that condition. Additionally, some have suggested that Barrett had traits associated with Asperger Syndrome, a condition similar to autism.

Barrett's use of LSD during the 1960s is well-documented. Some believe that Barrett's drug use helped trigger or contribute to his mental illness. In an article published in 2006, Gilmour was quoted as saying: "In my opinion, his breakdown would have happened anyway."

With Waters assuming band leadership, Floyd cemented its legendary status with a string of masterpieces, including 1973's Dark Side of the Moon, the 1975 tribute to Barrett, Wish You Were Here, which featured the epic track "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," and 1979's The Wall.

The post-Barrett Pink Floyd sold over 200 million albums and became one of the most mesmerizing live acts in music history. The band, Barrett included, was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

He was born Roger Keith Barrett, on Jan. 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England, the youngest of five children of a pathologist and his wife. Barrett studied music when he was a boy at the behest of his parents and acquired the nicknam, "Syd" as a nod to a local Cambridge musician named Sid Barrett.

After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett recorded two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both of which failed commercially. He subsequently exited the music industry altogether and became a recluse, spending the rest of his life living with his mother.

Barrett shocked his former band mates by paying them a surprise visit during recording sessions for Wish You Were Here.

According to Nick Mason it was a sad reunion--Barrett had become virtually unrecognizable to the band, having gained weight and shaved his head and eyebrows. Barrett had also taken to randomly brushing his teeth and jumping up and down in place. The sight so upset Waters that he nearly broke down.

"Roger was in tears, I think I was; we were both in tears," Wright once told VH1. "It was very shocking...seven years of no contact and then to walk in while we're actually doing that particular track "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". I don't know--coincidence, karma, fate, who knows? But it was very, very, very powerful."

Many artists have acknowledged Barrett's influence on their work: Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, David Bowie, Brian Eno, The Damned, Soft Machine, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Placebo, Lost and Profound, The Smashing Pumpkins, Phish, Marc Bolan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure, Dirty Pretty Things, Robyn Hitchcock, The Flaming Lips, Pearl Jam, Transatlantic, Dream Theater, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Johnny Depp has shown an interest in a biographical film based on Barrett's life.

Syd - wish you were here.

Suri Cruise Birth Certificate

2006-07-11T23:31:00.000-04:00

TMZ has obtained a copy of the official birth certificate of the elusive Suri Cruise, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

The document, filed with the Los Angeles County Register-Recorder/County Clerk, was filed May 8, 2006.

This will dispel the rumors thaat the pregnancy and the baby were not real.

It does not disprove the theory that, in fact, it is the parents who are not real.

Woman Accused of Witchcraft in 1706 Cleared

2006-07-11T23:27:00.000-04:00

It took 300 years, but Virginia's only convicted witch has finally been pardoned.

State Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was asked to exonerate Annabelle Coulter, who was tried by water and accused of using her powers to cause a woman to miscarry. On Monday, the 300th anniversary of the "ducking" trial, Kaine obliged.

"I am pleased to officially restore her good name," Kaine said in a letter that was read aloud by Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf before a local re-enactment of the ducking.

"With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice," Kaine wrote.

On July 10, 1706, her thumbs were tied to her toes and she was dropped into a river. She floated, proof that she was guilty because the pure water cast out her evil spirit, according to the belief system of the time.

Written descriptions of the witch have yielded this artist's impression of what she looked like:

Keep Ringo Out of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame

2006-07-09T16:11:00.000-04:00

Seth Swirsky is a self-proclaimed songwriter, author, recording artist and memorabilia collector. (Can anybody say "Jack of all trades"?). Seth is making a plea to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame (an oxymoron?) to induct Ringo Starr, the only Beatle not previously bestowed with this dubious honor.

I say to Ringo: "DON'T DO IT!"

Let's take a look at some of the musicians not deemed worthy enough to be inducted:

YES
Moody Blues
Blood, Sweat and Tears
ELP
Johnny Winter
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Procol Harum
Jethro Tull
Doobie Brothers
Renaissance
Genesis
King Crimson
Gordon Lightfooot
Peter, Paul and Mary
Kate Bush
Rickie Lee Jones
Country Joe and the Fish
Richie Havens
Funk Brothers

Ringo - do you want to be associated with those named aboved or with Dick Clark and Michael Jackson?

Excommunication Is Sought for Stem Cell Researchers

2006-07-02T10:12:00.000-04:00

Scientists who engage in stem cell research using human embryos should be subject to excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church, according to a senior Vatican official.

Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, who heads the group that proposes family-related policy for the church, said in an interview that stem cell researchers should be punished in the same way as women who have abortions and doctors who perform them.

Hey Al! Embryonic stem cells ARE NOT taken from abortions. They're taken from unused, discarded, frozen embryos which would be destroyed anyway!

The catholic church picks emryonic stem cell researchers to be excommunicated but neglects to excommunicate the following sinners:

Priests who rape and molest young boys.

Adolph Hitler.

Charles Manson.

Catholic members of the Bush administration.

The Mafia.

Ann Coulter.

By the way, they did excommunicate Martin Luthor, Cervantes, Joe DiMaggio and Sinead O'Connor. The relevance of the catholic church has sunk to a new low. If I were an embryonic stem cell researcher, I would consider excommunication to be a badge of honor.

Web users to 'patrol' US border

2006-06-04T10:23:00.000-04:00

A US state is to enlist web users in its fight against illegal immigration by offering live surveillance footage of the Mexican border on the internet.

The plan will allow web users worldwide to watch Texas' border with Mexico and phone the authorities if they spot any apparently illegal crossings.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said the cameras would focus on "hot-spots and common routes" used to enter the US.

Please note: This will only work if the illegal immigrants are female and naked.

First Ladies Fight Back

2006-05-18T07:50:00.000-04:00

With Nancy Reagan's blessing and in defiance of President Bush's veto threat, Senate Republican leaders are making plans for a vote this summer on a bill to restore federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Too little too late, guys. November is coming and the republican party's days are numbered. You want to impress me? Impeach the criminal in the white house!

Supporters contend government funding of the budding science could someday cure diseases suffered by millions of people. Opponents argue that harvesting such stem cells amounts to abortion because an embryo is destroyed in the process.

Bush's veto threat stands, according to White House spokesman Ken Lisaius. Neither chamber of Congress has demonstrated the two-thirds support required to overcome a veto.

"The president's embryonic stem cell policy serves both science and ethics," Lisaius said.

Oh...I thought it serves Bush's insane desire to kiss the ass of the religious right.

Many of history's First Ladies of the past have supported funding causes which affected their presidential hubbies:

Eleanor Roosevelt - polio
Anne Lincoln - color blindness
Martha Washington - dental hygiene
Hillary Clinton - sex addiction
Betty Ford - cerebral palsy
Laura Bush - mental retardation

Keith Richards' Brain Just Fine

2006-05-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

The Rolling Stones want everyone to know that Keith Richards hasn't suffered any brain damage--at least not stemming from his latest misadventure.

A rep for the band has emphatically denied a report in the New Zealand Herald that the hard-living, accident-prone guitarist has undergone two surgeries for his head injury earlier this month and that his condition is much more serious than first thought. The spokeswoman claims that the coconut induced incident has been grossly overblown.

Yeah.....Keith has no brain damage.

And I fart gold.

Bonds Hits No. 713, Moves Within 1 of Ruth

2006-05-09T12:11:00.000-04:00

Barry Bonds hit his 713th home run last night to move to within one of Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list.

Congratulations, Barry!

Here are some more records you'll break that Babe Ruth never did:

1. Most hits made with a tiny, shriveled-up......... bat.

2. Most RBIs with the liver of a 60 year old.

3. Best looking in a uniform due to low testosterone level and large breasts.

4. Least number of errors from a player with an altered thyroid and bug eyes.

5. Best fights with umpires due to "roid rage".

6. Most Fun in the Shower with androgenic side effects such as enlarged prostate, oily skin, water retention, increased body hair, aggressiveness, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting.

Harry Potter Films We'd Rather Not See

2006-05-05T20:59:00.000-04:00

(Courtesy of Captain Wacky's Lists)

Harry Potter and the Uneventful Year When No One Tried to Kill Him

Harry Potter and the New Love Interest Who Happens to Have the Same Name as the 15-Year-Old Girl Writing this List

Harry Potter and the New Love Interest Who Happens to Have the Same Name as the 15-Year-Old Boy Writing this List

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Sucrets

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Kidney Stone

Harry Potter and the Uncomforatble Oversexualization of Minors

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer are Stoned

Harry Potter and the Burning Sensation

Harry Potter and the Camping Weekend With Ron That Will Never Be Spoken Of Again

Harry Potter and the E Street Band

Harry Potter and the Things You Have to do to Get By in Prison

Harry Potter and the Chamber Pot of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner Detainees of Azerbaijan

Harry Potter and the Wand of Franchise Extension

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood, the Quadroon, and the Octaroon

Harold and His Big Purple Crayon of Adolescent Yearning

Hal Pot and the Intellectuals of Cambodia

Harry Potter and the shameless Tom Clancy Crossover

Harry Potter and the 2000 Election

Harry Potter and the HufflePuff Orgy

Harry Potter and the Weapons of Magic Destruction

Harry Potter and the Order of the Pizza

Harry Potter and the Bizarro Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Street Fighter II Tournament

Harry Potter and the King of Pop

Harry Potter and the Birth of Christ

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stones in His Mouth

Harry Potter and the Jews and Crusaders

Harry Potter the Geopolitical Realities of the Post-Nuclear Age

Harry Potter and Whoever Alan Rickman's Character is are Totally Doing It

Harry Potter and the Cusp of Manhood

Harry Potter and the Gauntlet of Mucous

Harry Potter and the Insidious Compact Disc Root Kit Installation

Harry Potter and the Gargoyle of Reacharounds

Harry Potter and the Sandwich of Crotchmeat

Harry Potter and the Incredibly Long Run-On Sentence That ALmost Makes It Look As If The First Three Paragraphs Of The Story Are Actually More Like The First Three Sentences And Then Hermione Says Harry That Dragon Is Attacking You and Ron Is In Danger So Harry Potter Reaches Into His Magic Bag And Removes A Magic Card That He Says Makeus Enlargitus and The Creature On The Card Which Is A Griffin With The Body Of A Zebra But Claws Of A Lion Comes Out Of It And When It (The Dragon) s Defeated Harry Says It Was Voldemort and Hermione Says How Do You Know And Harry Says I Just Know and Ron Goes Gulp!

Harry Potter and the Hendersons

Korean Scientists Develop Female Android

2006-05-05T20:29:00.000-04:00

Standing 1.6 meters tall and weighing about 50 kilograms, she can understand others, speak, blink with her eyes and makes several facial expressions.

But she is not human, rather an android developed by a team of South Korean scientists. It is only the second time in the world that an android has been developed _ Japan made the first one.

She is named "EveR-1", a combination of Eve and robot, looks just like a Korean female in her early 20s including her shape that is benchmarked against the nation's model.

From a distance, the android could be confused with a real, flesh and blood human being, according to Baeg.

The Korean robot can move the upper half of her body such as arms and hands but she cannot travel because her lower half is immobile.

Who wouldn't hit that after a few beers?

Woman to Give Birth at Age 63

2006-05-05T20:03:00.000-04:00

BRITAIN’S oldest expectant mother answered her critics yesterday, saying that her IVF-induced pregnancy, though “potentially controversial”, had been planned responsibly.

Patricia Rashbrook, a consultant child psychiatrist, will be 63 when she gives birth. She is seven months pregnant after treatment by an Italian embryologist. Doctors and anti abortion groups have accused her of selfishness and expressed fear for the child’s long-term welfare, growing up with two parents already over 60.

I don't know what the big deal is.

They can buy diapers in bulk for the both of them.

They can eat the same food.

They'll have the same number of teeth.

They both will have trouble finding their way home by themselves.

Then there's breast feeding -- there's an image I can't get out of my head.

Presidential Idol

2006-05-05T19:43:00.000-04:00

In American Idol news, a poll conducted by Washington-based public opinion research firm Pursuant Inc. determined some not-so-shocking information about the talent search's viewing public.

According to the survey, one in ten American adults has cast a vote for an Idol contestant this season, and of the 1,045 people who responded to the telephone poll, 35 percent of those surveyed said they believed voting on American Idol was as important or even more important than voting in a U.S. presidential election.

Randy Jackson: "George, dude, check it out. It was just aw-ight, a little pitchy in foreign policy. Domestic policy was completely out of tune. You gonna be going home soon, dog."

Paula Abdul: "First of all, you look great, dubya. You know I love ya - I'm a real fan even though your performance was weak. "

Simon Cowell: "A complete and utter disaster! It was bad presidential karaoke."

There's no hope for us -- take the gas pipe now!

George Bush Supports Teaching Paganism in Schools

2006-05-05T19:25:00.000-04:00

Creationism dismissed as 'a kind of paganism' by Vatican's astronomer

Believing that God created the universe in six days is a form of superstitious paganism, the Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno claimed yesterday.

He described creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a "kind of paganism" because it harked back to the days of "nature gods" who were responsible for natural events.

"Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god. And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do."

Since dubya wants creationism taught in our schools, he's really supporting the teaching of paganism.

George Bush is living proof that there is no "intelligent design".

Walgreens Shut Down After Meth Lab Found In Parking Lot

2006-05-04T11:31:00.001-04:00

Authorities say about 40 people were evacuated from a Walgreens after a methamphetamine laboratory was found in the trunk of a car in the store's parking lot.

Sheriff officials say 45-year-old Michael Wright, 19-year-old Jodie Duncan and 31-year-old Jeremie Messer, all of Ashland, Alabama were arrested. They are charged with conspiracy to manufacture meth, unlawful possession of listed chemicals and marijuana possession.

Authorities got a tip that the group was visiting several drug stores buying cold medicine, which is used to make meth.

On the other hand, the drive-thru traffic was moving at a rather brisk pace.

Bodman sees up to three years of fuel pain

2006-05-02T10:40:00.000-04:00

Gasoline prices have soared an average of 60 cents a gallon in less than a month because suppliers are unable to keep up with demand, a situation that could persist up to three more years, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Sunday.

So, in other words, things will get better once George Bush is out of office.

President Admits that his Foreign Policy is Based on Advice from Invisible Being

2006-04-25T10:52:00.000-04:00

Today, George Bush explained how God influences his foreign policy.

"I base a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true. One, I believe there's an Almighty. And B, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free."

Now, I have no problem if people want to worship God but perhaps there are more concrete and appropriate sources of information to help determine foreign policy.

How about diplomatic relations, world history, trade relations, economics, civil rights to name a few?

This just in - several new advisors have been appointed for members of the president's cabinet:
Deputy Dawg - Dept. of Justice
Jolly Green Giant - Dept. of Agriculture
G.I. Joe - Dept. of Defense
Zeus - Dept. of Energy
Daddy Warbucks - Dept. of the Treasury
3 Little Pigs - Dept. of Housing & Urban Development
John Henry - Dept. of Labor
Paul Bunyan - Dept. of the Interior

Study: When Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, Donald Trump Appear In Ads, Consumers Are Less Likely To Buy The Product...

2006-04-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

A recent study revealed that Ty Pennington, the megaphone-wielding host of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," isn't the most recognized name in Hollywood, but he carries the most clout on Madison Avenue.

The celeb handyman, who sells his own line of housewares at Sears, is the best at getting consumers to pull out the credit card, a new study says.

Sexpot Anna Nicole Smith, hotel heiress Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, supermodel Kate Moss and real estate mogul Donald Trump were all examples of celebs whose association made it less likely a person would buy a product, the study said.

They're just marketing the wrong products. Here are some suggestions:

Anna Nicole Smith - "a mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Paris Hilton - Sony's "Low Blow", the new low-light video camera.

Donald Trump - Men's Hair Club for Men.

Britney Spears - Pop-Tarts.

Kate Moss - "the only person who's been in Betty Ford more times than Gerald."

Look -- Up in the Sky! Product Placements!

2006-04-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

Superheroes like Superman and Spider-Man can save mankind from natural disasters, space aliens and evil mutants but there's one thing they are powerless to stop: Advertisers shilling products within the pages of the comic books they call home.

In July, DC Comics, home to characters such as Batman and Aquaman, is launching "Rush City," a six-part miniseries that boasts visible promotional support from Pontiac.

Over the past few months, Marvel Entertainment Inc. has begun putting the "swoosh" logo from Nike Inc. in the scenes of some of its titles, such as "New X-Men." Last week, Dodge finalized an ad pact that will include product placements in Marvel comics. Marvel, home of Spider-Man, Captain America and Sub-Mariner, may feature Dodge's new car, the Caliber, in the books' cityscapes, including on billboards, T-shirts or signs over the next four to eight months.

We can look forward to these shameless plugs in the future:

The Flash: ejaculation delay ointment
Spider-man: Raid
Wonder Woman: Wonder bras
Iron Man: Rustoleum
Luke Cage: Geri-curl
Thor: Craftsmen hammers
Hulk: Slimfast
The Thing: Vaseline skin lotion
Hawkman: Donald Rumsfeld's PR firm
The Two Gun Kid: Dick Cheney's ranch
Black Panther: Eldridge Cleaver books
Dr. Strange: Bill Frist's autobiography
Aquaman: Brita water filters
Super man: Acme Plungers
Mr. Fantastic: Viagra
Green Lantern: Brasso brass cleaner
Swamp Thing: Sears Wet/Dry Vac

Beverage Creates a Buzz

2006-04-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

Indians in a remote mountain village in southern Colombia are marketing a particularly refreshing soft drink that harks back to Coca-Cola's original formula, when "coca" was in the name for a reason.

For six years, the Nasa have been quietly selling coca-flavored cookies, aromatic teas, wines and ointments at informal sidewalk stalls and in health food stores.

Chewing coca leaves, which depresses the central nervous system, has enabled Indians to soften the effects of hunger, hard work and high altitude for centuries.

I wonder how long it will take for these products to show up in the programmers lounge of Microsoft. Maybe then Windows Vista would ship on time.

It's the "Real Thing."

Vermont Dems vote to urge Congress to impeach Bush

2006-04-09T09:18:00.000-04:00

Leaders of the Vermont Democratic Party voted Saturday to urge Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush.

The vote makes Vermont's Democratic Party committee the fifth to do so, following New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin, party officials in Vermont said.

Now we all know that the "repuglican" congress will ignore this (for know) just like they've ignored every other act of treason, corruption, dishonesty, crime and stupidity thus far.

But the momentum is growing. Five states so far have come to their senses. That's 10% of the country. When the Democrats take back control of Congress in November perhaps we can end this reign of terror earlier than expected.

Debate rages on use of cervical cancer vaccine

2006-04-08T13:41:00.000-04:00

Debate rages on use of cervical cancer vaccine. While almost 100% effective, some contend use condones teen sex.

A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has set up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots aggressively to prevent thousands of malignancies and "social conservatives" who say immunizing teen-agers could encourage sexual activity.

Groups working to reduce the toll of the cancer are eagerly awaiting the vaccine and want it to become part of the standard roster of shots that children, especially girls, receive just before puberty.

Because the vaccine protects against a sexually transmitted virus, many conservatives oppose making it mandatory, citing fears that it could send a subtle message condoning sexual activity before marriage. Several leading groups that promote abstinence are meeting this week to formulate official policies on the vaccine.

So here is a possible scenario:
"Hey Barbie, I heard that new girl in school got a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer"

"For sure, Tiffany. What a slut!"

The jockeying reflects the growing influence "social conservatives", who had long felt overlooked by Washington, have gained on a broad spectrum of policy issues under the Bush administration. In this case, a former member of the conservative group Focus on the Family serves on the federal panel that is playing a pivotal role in deciding how the vaccine is used.

What? Did I read that correctly? Focus on the Family? Do we really want to be governed by a group that wants to increase the number of unwed mothers, supports babies in dumpsters, tortures rape and incest victims, and denies loving relationships to gay couples?

"What the Bush administration has done has taken this coterie of people and put them into very influential positions in Washington," said James Morone Jr., a professor of political science at Brown University. "And it's having an effect in debates like this."

An Evening with Ann Coulter

2006-04-08T10:04:00.000-04:00

This is a link to Al Franken's opening remarks during a debate with the Queen of the Black Death, Ann Coulter. It is a must-read.

The Nazi princess also had some wonderful and inciteful things to say:

"It was fascinating being here for the [immigration] demonstrations this weekend. I guess that's why I didn't get clean towels in my hotel room this morning."

"I haven't seen so many agitated Mexicans since the World Cup Soccer Games were in L.A."

For more hilarious Coulter hijinks...

Testicles May Yield "Ethical" Stem Cells...

2006-04-06T09:13:00.000-04:00

Men’s testicles may provide an “ethical” source of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), suggest new experiments in mice.

A team in Germany has successfully grown mouse ESC-like cells from spermatagonial stem cells which normally turn into sperm. The ESC-like cells can be grown into all tissues of the mouse body, suggesting that if the same could be done in men, it would provide patients with a source of tissue-matched cells for repairing any damaged organs or tissue.

So far, all existing colonies of human ESCs have been derived from surplus human embryos, leftover from infertility treatments. Because a human embryo is sacrificed in the process, many religious groups oppose such research, especially in the US where President George W. Bush has placed heavy restrictions on federal stem cell researchers.

This is not what I had in mind when I said we should "grow some balls" and oppose the religious right!

'Lord of the Rings' — the musical?

2006-03-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

Now we have "The Lord of the Rings," the theatrical juggernaut that had its world premiere in Toronto flaunting its $23-million price tag.

Featuring such great songs as:

"What Kind of Troll am I?"

"Seiging in the Rain"

"Try to Dismember"

"Me and My Gollum"

"Consider Your Elf"

"Old Man Rivendell"

"Maim"

"Gimli a Kiss to Build a Dream On"

"Helm's Deep in the Heart of Texas"

"Fro-Do-Re-Mi"

"Paint Your Dragon"

"Shelobs Me"

"Don't Ents Me In"

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

2006-03-23T19:48:00.000-05:00

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Well, that's certainly a mouthful. Babs gets a tax break and little Neil gets the funds.

As Obi-Wan once said: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Neil Bush founded Austin-based Ignite Learning, which produces the COW program, in 1999. Information about the effectiveness of the program, through district-generated reports, was not readily available according to an Houston school spokeswoman.

Two years ago, the school district raised eyebrows when it expanded the program by relying heavily on private donations.

The deal raised conflict of interest concerns because Neil Bush and company officials helped solicit the donations for the HISD Foundation, a philanthropic group that raises money.

Last year, Neil Bush reportedly toured former Soviet Union countries promoting Ignite with Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky. According to the Times of London, Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider now living in Britain, is wanted on criminal charges in Moscow accusing him of seeking to stage a coup against President Vladimir Putin.

The Bush crime family is on a par with the Corleones or the Sopranos except that the Bush crime family lacks any ethical standards at all.

Fool on The Hill

2006-03-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

Day after day, alone on the hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool.
And he never gives an answer .....

But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

Well on his way, his head in a cloud,
The man of a thousand voices, talking perfectly loud.
But nobody ever hears him,
Or the sound he appears to make.
And he never seems to notice .....

But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

And nobody seems to like him,
They can tell what he wants to do.
And he never shows his feelings,

But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

Radio Scan from the Night John Lennon Died - Dec. 8, 1980

2006-03-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a dial scan of New York City's FM band from 25 years ago (mp3). It was recorded shortly after the news of John Lennon's murder broke. The recording was made by an unknown listener.

Very chilling for those of you who remember that sad night.

George Bush Finally Succeeds at Something - Destroying the Planet Earth

2006-03-20T10:47:00.000-05:00

Sea ice in the Arctic has failed to re-form for the second consecutive winter, raising fears that global warming may have tipped the polar regions in to irreversible climate change far sooner than predicted.

Recent findings from Nasa show that the Arctic is starting to respond to global warming.

We have George Bush to thank for this development.

In 2005, Bush administration officials working behind the scenes have succeeded in weakening key sections of a proposal for joint action by the eight major industrialized nations to curb climate change.

Under U.S. pressure, negotiators agreed to delete language that would detail how rising temperatures are affecting the globe, set ambitious targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, and set stricter environmental standards.

The administration's push to alter the G-8's plan on global warming marks its latest effort to edit scientific or policy documents to accord with its position that mandatory carbon dioxide cuts are unnecessary.

The New York Times reported that a senior White House official had altered government documents to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding the science on global warming. That official, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chief of Staff Phillip Cooney, left the administration to take a public relations job with oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp., a leading opponent of mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

The wording of the international document, titled "Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development," will help determine what, if any, action the G-8 countries will take as a group to combat global warming. Every member nation except the United States has pledged to bring its greenhouse gas emissions down to 1990 levels by 2012 as part of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty.

Negotiators tried to work out the wording of statements on climate change and other issues that leaders of all eight nations were willing to endorse. The language is not final, but the documents show that a number of deletions were made at U.S. insistence.

But environmentalists criticized the administration for trying to water down the international coalition's initiative. The seven other G-8 members -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia -- were urged to adopt their own global warming plan rather than accept a milder statement that they say would provide the Bush administration with political cover.

"The U.S. will just not budge," said Hans Verolme, director of the World Wildlife Fund's U.S. climate change program. "We'd rather not have a deal than have a deal that lets George Bush off the hook."

Majority of Americans Think Bush is "Incompetent", an "Idiot", and a "Liar"

2006-03-19T11:46:00.000-05:00

Deep doubts about the Iraq war and pessimism about America's future have shattered public confidence in President George W. Bush and helped drive his approval ratings to their lowest level ever.

A new round of opinion polls found growing skepticism about Iraq and distrust of Bush. His image declined sharply, with one poll finding "incompetent" to be the most frequent description of his leadership.

Bush's approval rating dipped as low as 33 percent in one recent poll after a string of bad news for the White House, including uproars over a now-dead Arab port deal, a secret eavesdropping program, a series of ethics scandals involving high-profile Republicans and a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.

A majority of Americans, 56 percent, believe Bush is "out of touch," the poll found. When asked for a one-word description of Bush, the most frequent response was "incompetent," followed by "idiot" and "liar."

This is great news. Could it be possible that the American people are finally seeing the truth? I am very guarded about this. I still have several friends I consider to be very intelligent that still support this moron.

Susan Sarandon to portray Cindy Sheehan in biopic movie

2006-03-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

Cindy Sheehan is very busy these days. Actress Susan Sarandon is set to portray her in a biopic movie. I can't think of more inspired casting. The premiere spokeswoman for progressive thinkers portraying the premiere spokeswoman for peace. In addition, a crew will film Sheehan for a weekly reality series on the Sundance Channel. Her letters to President Bush inspired "Peace Mom," a one-woman monologue show in London. A memoir is due to her publisher April 1.

A year ago Cindy was a rather anonymous mom, shaken by the fact that her son has been killed by an ambush halfway across the globe. Six months later, when she pitched a tent outside President Bush's Texas ranch and demanded he explain the "noble cause" for which Casey was sacrificed, her plaintive cry seized the moment in America. By injecting aching humanity into the political debate, she catalyzed public opinion against the war.

Early during those muggy August days in Crawford -- when Bush balked at meeting with her and instead went biking, saying it was important that he "go on with my life" -- her credibility was at its peak. This is supported by the fact that conservative hack Ann Coulter wrote: "Call me old-fashioned, but a grief-stricken war mother shouldn't have her own full-time PR flack."

What to Do if Your Eyeball Falls Out of Its Socket

2006-03-18T11:40:00.000-05:00

What should you do if your eyeball comes out of your head?

Get it put back in, and soon. The longer you remain in this rare condition—known as globe luxation—the more strain you'll put on the blood vessels and nerves that connect your eye to the rest of your head. Your luxated globes will also be susceptible to corneal abrasions or inflammation, and the feeling of your eyelids clamped down behind them won't be pleasant.

You should be able to get your eye back in place without serious, long-term damage. (If the ocular muscles tear or if the optic nerve is severed, your outlook won't be as clear.) The treatment for globe luxation is pretty simple: Doctors apply some topical painkillers, hold back your lashes, and poke your eyeball into its socket by pressing on the white part with gloved fingers. (In some cases, they'll use a simple tool like a bent paperclip to shoehorn it back into place.) You might get antibiotics, lubricating drops, or steroids to follow up for a few days while your vision returns to normal.

If your eyeballs fall out of their sockets repeatedly, you might be a candidate for a lateral tarsorrhaphy—in which doctors sew up your eyelids part of the way to keep them from opening too wide. You could also learn the following technique for popping your eye back in yourself: First direct your gaze downward. Now pinch and pull your upper eyelid with the thumb and index finger of one hand. Lay a finger from your other hand on the top part of your luxated eyeball, taking care to press only on the insensitive white part. While you continue to hold your eyelid up, push your eyeball gently down and back at the same time until it's part of the way in. Then try to look upwards; if everything goes right your eyeball will rotate under the upper lid and back into its socket.

This has been a public service announcement.

For the women of South Dakota: an abortion manual

2006-03-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

WOMEN OF SOUTH DAKOTA -- Maybe you're angry that your state thinks it knows better than you what to do with your body than you do. Maybe you're anxiously wondering where the nearest abortion clinic is, now that you will have to leave the state to get to one.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, when abortions were illegal in many places and expensive to get, an organization called Jane stepped up to the plate in the Chicago area. Jane initially hired an abortion doctor, but later they did the abortions themselves. They lost only one patient in 13,000 -- a lower death rate than that of giving live birth. The biggest obstacle was the fact that they thought of abortion as something only a doctor could do.

They were deceived -- much like you have probably been deceived. An abortion, especially for an early pregnancy, is a relatively easy procedure to perform. And now women of South Dakota is the time to learn how it is done. There is no reason you should be beholden to doctors -- especially in a state where doctors have been refusing to perform them, forcing the state's only abortion clinic to fly doctors in from elsewhere.

For under $2000, any person with the inclination to learn could create a fully functioning abortion setup allowing for both vacuum aspiration and dilation/curettage abortions. If you are careful and diligent, and have a good grasp of a woman's anatomy you will not put anyone's health or life in danger, even if you have not seen one of these procedures performed.

Women of South Dakota -- visit the link at the top of this post -- today.

Baby boomers prefer TV to sex: Canadian study

2006-03-18T11:14:00.000-05:00

When it comes to sex and romance, aging Canadian baby boomers spend a lot more time watching television or surfing the net, according to a new study.

The survey by pollsters Ipsos Reid, commissioned by Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra, found that Canadians between the ages of 40 and 64 spend an average of 15 minutes a day on sex and romance, but can spend as much as five hours a day watching TV or surfing the Internet.

15 minutes of sex per day AND 5 hours per day watching TV and surfing the net?

And the downside is what?

Blind Faith's live debut heads to DVD

2006-03-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

Short-lived supergroup Blind Faith's live debut will be chronicled on the DVD "London Hyde Park 1969," due April 10 in Europe and the following month in North America via Sanctuary.

I was one of the fortunate few who saw these guys live at Madison Square Garden in New York. The opening act was Delaney and Bonnie and Friends with Eric Clapton on tambourine. The year was 1969. They were one of the first to use a revolving circular stage. You could tell how primitive the technology was at the time because you could see the stage crew constantly untangling the cables.

But what about the music? Steve and Eric with incredible double guitar solos. Steve's great vocals and intense organ riffs. Even Rick Grech shines on the violin. And when do you see a standing ovation from 20,000 people for a 15 minute drum solo?

The DVD features renditions of all six tracks from the group's lone self-titled studio album, which had not even been released at the time of the show. Vintage performances from Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Cream round out the package.

Blind Faith rose out of the ashes of Cream, when Baker and Eric Clapton united with ex-Spencer Davis and Traffic singer/keyboardist Steve Winwood and Family bassist Rick Grech.

After their live debut at Hyde Park, Blind Faith soldiered on for a U.S. tour of arenas, which was met with riots and clashes between fans and police on several occasions. The group quietly disbanded afterwards, with its members going on to other projects.

Despite the release of DVD, drummer Ginger Baker rules out any chance of a Blind Faith reunion. "Rick Grech died many years ago (in 1990)," he notes. "I just come out of retirement for short periods. I'm pretty much crippled with arthritis -- playing is a very painful experience for me."

Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish

2006-03-14T11:45:00.000-05:00

Interior Secretary Gale Norton resigned Friday after five years of guiding the Bush administration's initiative to open government lands in the West to more oil and gas drilling, logging, grazing and commercial recreation.

Finally good riddance to bad rubbish finally means something. One thing that Gale Norton never did was rid this country of bad rubbish.

But many thanks are due to Gale:
Thanks for supporting deforestation for the lumber companies.

Thanks for allowing strip mining and blowing off the tops of mountains to increase coal profits and create toxic sludge which caused the deaths of innocent people.

Thanks for relaxing pollution standards for chemical companies.

Thanks for stripping federal protections of hundreds of protected animal species.

Thanks for supporting oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge.

Thanks for placing industrial cronies in key positions on your staff.

Thanks for the increase of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park.

Thanks for opening public lands to oil and gas mining.

Bye Gale

South Dakota, With State Average IQ of 90, Bans Most Abortions

2006-03-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

South Dakota's governor signed a near-total ban on abortions in the state into law in what the governor called a ''direct frontal assault'' on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize the practice 33 years ago.

South Dakota has a state average IQ of 90 and is ranked 45 out of 50 in national intelligence. An IQ range of 80-90 is classified as "dullness". You can draw your own conclusions.

The bill would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception for cases of rape or incest but such victims could get emergency contraception. Under the new law, doctors could get up to five years in prison for performing an illegal abortion.

The abortion bill earlier this month passed the House 50-18 and the Senate by 23-12. For the most part, republicans have dominated the Statehouse since the 1970s. What a surprise!

But Leslee Unruh, president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse said the governor's decision to sign the bill is a victory for women. ''We finally have been heard,'' said Unruh. ''We are so excited. We're ordering lobster and having a party. We are thrilled.'' I guess it's ok to boil a lobster alive but not to scrape out a few non-living cells.

You gotta love this loon. Read more about her deceptive bullshit. By the way, it can cost you up to $1,500 to abstain from sex with Leslee. The donations form defaults to $100, gift certificates are $25 each, "Purity" rings sell for $329 plus books, brochures and audio tapes are also for sale at this non-profit organization.

But the news is not all bad:
1. We can round up the country's rapists and ship them off to South Dakota where they can take some pride in their work knowing their efforts will bear fruit, so to speak.

2. Fathers, brothers and mentally deficient cousins can move there with their wives... or sisters... or daughters... or whatever to create more genetic mayhem in peace.

3. Entrepreneurs will flock to South Dakota to open up a myriad of new businesses like garbage dumpsters, wire coat hangers, vacuum cleaners (Oreck vacuums can pick up a bowling ball!) and Krazy Glue.

4. The unlucky few who are forced to give birth can sell their babies on eBay or CraigsList.

Spike Lee: "Condi, stop smoking that crack!"

2006-03-05T10:46:00.000-05:00

Firebrand director Spike Lee has found an unlikely new target for his latest spray: the secretary of state.

Says Lee: "I dislike Condoleezza Rice more than [President] Bush. The thing about it is that she's gotten a free ride from black people."

Oh no, he didn't.

"People say, 'She's so successful' and 'Look at her position as a black woman.' She is a black woman who grew up in Birmingham, Ala., and said that she never experienced a day of racism in her life," Lee tells the April issue of Stuff magazine.

"Condi, stop smoking that crack!"

"I know you love your Ferragamo shoes, but come on. While people were drowning in New Orleans, she was going up and down Madison Ave. buying Ferragamo shoes. Then she went to see 'Spamalot.'"

You heard the man, Madame Secretary. Put down the crack pipe.

Crazy Mel Gibson's Oscar Moment

2006-03-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Mel Gibson will appear in a brief spot on this Sunday’s Oscar broadcast speaking another exotic tongue: Maya. That's the sole language of Apocalypto, the adventure epic set in Pre-Columbian Mexico that Gibson is currently shooting.

Could Mayan human sacrifices cause as much of a stir among the politically correct as the anti-semitism in Gibson's depiction of the crucifixion of Christ? "After what I experienced with The Passion," he says, "I frankly don’t give a flying fuck about much of what they think."

Gibson plans to use real Jews as human sacrifices. "I wanted to make it as close to reality as I could", said Gibson. His father, Hutton Gibson, is serving as Historical Consultant on the film.

His last film, The Passion of the Christ, was spoken entirely in the dead languages of Latin, Aramaic and Forked Tongue. More violent than Texas Chainsaw Massacre and featuring terrifying hook-nosed Jews, millions of religious parents dragged their young children to this film to literally teach them the "fear of Jesus". The catch line of the film was "just when you thought it was safe to go back in the church."

At least we won't be able to understand what this Nazi is saying. I intend to use Mel's time on air to prepare a kosher corned beef sandwich for myself.

Katherine Harris Caught Up in Bribery Scandal

2006-03-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

U.S. republican Rep. Katherine Harris said Thursday she did not knowingly do anything wrong in her associations with a defense contractor who prosecutors say illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign in 2004.

You remember Katherine Harris, don't you? She's the former Florida secretary of state (and chairperson of the Florida RNC -- no conflict there!) who helped fix the 2000 presidential election recount in favor of George Bush.

The donations were described in a plea agreement last Friday, when Mitchell Wade, the former president of MZM Inc., pleaded guilty to bribing U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in exchange for assistance in getting $150 million in Defense Department contracts for his company.

He also admitted making illegal campaign contributions in the names of MZM employees and their spouses to Harris and Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va. Prosecutors said Harris got $32,000 from employees who were reimbursed by Wade. Harris said she recently donated the money to charity, and didn't know the donations would be reimbursed. Recently donated? Nice.

Wade has been cooperating with federal prosecutors in Washington and San Diego since last summer and is required to continue to do so as part of his plea agreement with the government. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said they are continuing to investigate and won't say if Harris is a subject.

"I think these revelations should matter to voters because I think ethics should count for something in a public servant," said Dan McLaughlin, spokesman for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, D-Florida.

Randy Cunningham in prison and Katherine Harris headed that way -- it's good to be alive.

Sentenced to 8 Years - No Special Treatment Expected for Cunningham

2006-03-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

Former republican Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham was sentenced in federal court to eight years and four months in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors in return for smoothing the way for government contracts.

He may have once been counted among the leaders of the land, and he may have once been acclaimed as a war hero, but when he arrives at prison, Randy Cunningham will be just another prisoner, one of about 190,000 inmates now in the federal prison system.

Regardless of the lofty status he once held, Cunningham won't be granted any extraordinary considerations, according to Sandra Hijar, spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Of course, his eight year sentence is already substantially less than most pot smokers get but I guess that doesn't count.

What Cunningham will experience during his initial weeks is an orientation in which he is evaluated and introduced to the prison's rules and regulations, its program offerings and issued a handbook.

But first will come one of the harsh realities of prison ---- chief among them being a strip search including an examination of his body cavities. He will be told to remove any items in his pockets and to strip and then undergo the body search.

And why not? He's been sticking his dirty fist up the American people's ass for years. I hope they don't use any lubricant.

Once that is completed and he is issued prison garb, Cunningham must dress in front of the staff.

He will be required to take part in a "social interview" to determine if there are any nonmedical reasons he should not be housed with the prison's general population. Let's hope for genpop and he get's a 300 pound black man named Bubba for a cellmate --- and he loves older white men.

Federal prison inmates start jobs earning 12 cents an hour and can work their way up to 40 cents per hour. Hey, here's a novel idea -- why doesn't Randy stay in prison working at these wages until the entire $2.4 million is paid off?

But this has been a bad day for the dark side of the force -- and that's a good thing.

Bush Flip-Flops on NASA Budget

2006-03-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

Some of the most highly promoted missions on NASA's scientific agenda would be postponed indefinitely or perhaps even canceled under the agency's new budget, despite its administrator's vow to Congress six months ago that not "one thin dime" would be taken from space science to pay for President Bush's plan to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars.

The cuts come to $3 billion over the next five years. Bush spends that much for one hour in Iraq.

Among the casualties in the budget, released last month, are efforts to look for habitable planets and perhaps life elsewhere in the galaxy, an investigation of the dark energy that seems to be ripping the universe apart, bringing a sample of Mars back to Earth and exploring for life under the ice of Jupiter's moon Europa — as well as numerous smaller programs and individual research projects that astronomers say are the wellsprings of new science and new scientists.

Could you imagine if we found life on other planets and they said "take us to your leader"? How embarassing would that be?

The new cuts, they say, will drive young people from the field, ending American domination of space science and perhaps ceding future discoveries to Europe. Won't we feel foolish when the secret of the creation of the universe is solved by a housewife from Bulgaria.

Many scientists said the roots of their plight lay in the Bush administration's refusal to ask Congress for enough money to carry out the Moon-Mars program, announced with fanfare two years ago.

For example, the James Webb Space Telescope — the designated successor to the Hubble telescope, designed to see back in time and space within a whisper of the Big Bang (no reference to Dick Cheney) — was ranked first on the astronomers' wish list in an influential National Academy of Sciences survey in 2000. But delays and technical problems have almost doubled its cost, to more than $4.5 billion, and postponed its launching by two years, to 2013.

The loss of the James Webb telescope is unfortunate - I would've liked to have seen the universe back when George Bush didn't exist.

Garrison Keillor - "Impeach Bush Now"

2006-03-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

Now let me get one thing straight up front. I'd rather drink New Orleans levee water, go hunting with Dick Cheney or spend a fun filled weekend at Guantánamo Bay then listen to the life sucking radio program known as The Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. The show moves along at two speeds - slow and "hand me the defibrillator."

That being said, I now have new found respect for this curmugeon of the heartland. In the latest edition of salon.com he calls for the impeachment of George Bush. Here are the highlights:

"These are troubling times for all of us who love this country, as surely we all do, even the satirists. You may poke fun at your mother, but if she is belittled by others it burns your bacon. And then you read the paper and realize the country is led by a man who isn't paying attention, and you hope that somebody will poke him. Do we need to impeach him to bring some focus to this man's life? The man was lost and then he was found and now he's more lost than ever, plus being blind."

"Wiretap surveillance of Americans without a warrant? Great. Go for it. How about turning over American ports to a country more closely tied to 9/11 than Saddam Hussein was? Fine by me. No problem. And what about the war in Iraq? Hey, you're doing a heck of a job, Brownie. No need to tweak a thing."

"But torture is something else. When Americans start pulling people's fingernails out with pliers and poking lighted cigarettes into their palms, then we need to come back to basic values. Most people agree with this, and in a democracy that puts the torturers in a delicate position. They must make sure to destroy their e-mails and have subordinates who will take the fall. Because it is impossible to keep torture secret. It goes against the American grain and it eats at the conscience of even the most disciplined, and in the end the truth will come out. It is coming out now."

"According to the leaders of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, our country is practically as vulnerable today as it was on 9/10. Our seaports are wide open, our airspace is not secure except for the nation's capital, and little has been done about securing the nuclear bomb materials lying around in the world. They give the administration D's and F's in most categories of defending against terrorist attack."

"The peaceful lagoon that is the White House is designed for the comfort of a vulnerable man. Perfectly understandable, but not what is needed now. The U.S. Constitution provides a simple ultimate way to hold him to account for war crimes and the failure to attend to the country's defense. Impeach him and let the Senate hear the evidence."

Bravo, Garrison. Lake Weedbegone would be proud of you.

Condi Rice is Here to Pump You Up!

2006-03-02T08:06:00.000-05:00

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a woman who meets with princes and prime ministers but never goes a day without exercising. She's learned that it takes work to stay in shape -- both mentally and physically.

"I put in a little gym at my apartment," she said. Rice prefers low-impact exercises, much like George Bush has on health care. "I'm ... a little bit over 50," Rice said with a smile.

Her typical daily routine includes:

1. 10 minutes of Jumping Jacks on the Constitution.

2. 5 minutes of crunching the budget.

3. 10 minutes of spinning lies.

4. 5 minutes of stretching the truth.

5. 10 minutes of running the country into the ground.

6. Finally, her morning meeting with the president otherwise known as 20 minutes with the dumb bell.

Cheney seen retiring after midterm elections

2006-02-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to retire within a year.

Wait. Let's just let that statement flow over us like warm milk and cookies, sunshine and honey, sugar and spice and everything nice........... ok.

Senior GOP sources predict the retirement of Mr. Cheney in 2007, several months after the congressional elections. The sources said Mr. Cheney would be persuaded to step down as he becomes an increasing political liability to Mr. Bush.

Can someone be a liability to another liability?

The sources reported a growing rift between the president and vice president as well as their staffs. They cited Mr. Cheney's failure to immediately tell the president of the "accidental" shooting of the vice president's hunting colleague earlier this month. The White House didn't learn of the incident until 18 hours later. (yeah right)

Mr. Cheney's next crisis could take place by the end of the year, the sources said. They said the White House was expecting Mr. Cheney to defend himself against charges from his former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, that the vice president ordered him to relay classified information. Can you say "treason"? I knew that you could. Such a charge could lead to a congressional investigation and even impeachment proceedings. (without oral sex? I never would've believed it)

Mr. Bush, the sources said, has rejected the advice from circles close to his daddy, the former president, to dismiss Mr. Cheney. They say Mr. Bush has long regarded Mr. Cheney as the experienced hand in national security, as well as being trusted by the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Besides, you don't usually fire your own boss? Who's going to help George with his jigsaw puzzles?

Poll: Bush Disapproval Ratings At All-Time High

2006-02-28T07:47:00.000-05:00

The latest CBS News poll finds George Bush's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34% (disapproval rating of 66%), while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high.

Bush is expected to come up with another phony emergency to divert attention from his incompetent performance. He already used the fabricated orange/yellow alert scam so it will have to be something new.

Perhaps he will allow Medicare to cover faith healing. Or appoint a neo-Nazi head of the B'nai B'rith. Or have intelligent design covered in the SATs. Or appoint Barbara Bush director of HUD. Or appoint Karl Rove professor of Ethics at Yale. Or hire Dick Cheney as a rifle instructor in the army. Or perhaps he'll just conduct business as usual. Something is bound to come up.

Americans are also overwhelmingly opposed to the Bush-backed deal giving a Dubai-owned company operational control over six major U.S. ports. Seven in 10 Americans, including 58 percent of Republicans, say they're opposed to the agreement.

In a separate poll, two out of three Americans said they do not think President Bush has responded adequately to the needs of Katrina victims. Only 32 percent approve of the way President Bush is responding to those needs, a drop of 12 points from last September’s poll, taken just two weeks after the storm made landfall.

I don't know what they're complaining about. Didn't Barbara Bush welcome everyone with open arms to the Hotel Astrodome?

Most Americans say the president does not care much about people like themselves.

In a bright spot for the administration, most Americans appeared to have heard enough about Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident. But a majority also said the Cheney jokes should keep coming. The incident appears to have made the public's already negative view of Cheney a bit more so. Just 18 percent said they had a favorable view of the vice president, down from 23 percent in January.

Voting Machine Logs Contained 100,000 Errors in Palm Beach County for 2004 Election

2006-02-25T23:21:00.000-05:00

The internal logs of at least 40 touch-screen voting machines used in Florida in the 2004 presidential election reveal that votes were time and date-stamped as cast two weeks before the election, sometimes in the middle of the night.

Black Box Voting successfully sued former Palm Beach County (FL) Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore to get the audit records for the 2004 presidential election.

After investing over $7,000 and waiting nine months for the records, Black Box Voting discovered that the voting machine logs contained approximately 100,000 errors.

According to voting machine assignment logs, Palm Beach County used 4,313 machines in the Nov. 2004 election. During election day, 1,475 voting system calibrations were performed while the polls were open, providing documentation to substantiate reports from citizens indicating the wrong candidate was selected when they tried to vote.

I'd say that the "wrong candidate" is an understatement. In 2000, Bush stole the election by getting the Supremes to appoint him king. Then, in 2004, Bush fixed the election results in both Ohio and Florida. Will nothing short of a revolution stop these republican despots?

The evidence indicates that someone accessed the computers before the election, and that this access caused a change in the machine's reporting functions, at least for date and time. Such access would take a high degree of inside access. It is possible for an insider to access the machines and leave no trace.

Does anyone know if Karl Rove was in Florida during the election?

The Buck Stops Where?

2006-02-23T16:02:00.000-05:00

The White House cited failures by the Homeland Security Department and other agencies in planning, communications and leadership in a report on Hurricane Katrina Thursday and proposed a broad reworking of how the government would respond to the next catastrophe.

Bush, however, made no mention of his own failings.

"We will learn from the lessons of the past to better protect the American people," Bush said Thursday at the end of a Cabinet meeting where the report was released.

"I wasn't satisfied with the federal response," Bush said.

I thought George was the key player in the federal response. Is he going to fire anybody?

Bush ordered the review days after the Aug. 29 storm revealed widespread federal disaster response gaps. More than 1,300 Gulf Coast residents died after Katrina hit, and hundreds of thousands more were forced from their destroyed homes.

The White House review comes a week after the special Republican-dominated House committee investigating the slow response found fault at every level of government — including the president and Chertoff.

Of course, anyone with the IQ of an egg timer knew this three days after Katrina struck. Why did it take dubya five months to figure this out? (that's a rhetorical question)

The report also encourages private citizens to take more responsibility for themselves, and recommends a public awareness campaign on individual preparedness, noting the success of slogans such as "Stop, Drop and Roll" for fire safety information.

"Stop, Drop and Roll", George? "Stop, Drop and Drown" would be more appropriate. Bush not only blames the agencies that he oversees but he is blaming Ma and Pa Kettle of New Orleans for allowing the water on their front porch.

The report describes Katrina as the first U.S. disaster — natural or man-made — with damage estimates approaching $100 billion. It does not look at ways to improve state and local preparedness and response missions.

When is someone going to address the catastrophe that is George Bush?

Folk Songs of the Far Right Wing

2006-02-21T11:02:00.000-05:00

"I Walked in to Dick Cheney's Line of Fire"

"If I Had a Hammer, I'd Sell it to the Army"

"Hang Down Your Head, Tom Delay"

"Go Vote Twice, It's All Right"

"That's All Right, Osama"

and many more...

George Bush Sings John Lennon

2006-02-21T10:27:00.000-05:00

Goerge Bush sings "Imagine" by John Lennon.

Maybe there's hope for this scumbag yet.

STAR TREK: NEW VOYAGES!

2006-02-21T09:43:00.000-05:00

These new, free downloadable shows are the continuing voyages of Captain Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701 as seen in the 1966-69 television series, Star Trek. The series was cancelled after its third season. The series continues as if it were in its fourth year.

The cost of the production is being paid out of pocket by the producers/crew. Many talented people donate their time and money for a worthy cause and a once in a lifetime trip around the galaxy.

The costumes, sets and props are those seen in the original series of Star Trek. Some of the props, sets and costumes will be updated to reflect the changes planned for Star Trek Phase II, the aborted series that would have featured the original cast in the late 1970's.

The cast will feature Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Lieutenant Uhura, Lieutenant Cmdr. “Scotty” Scott, Lieutenant Cmdr. DeSalle, Nurse Chapel, and Lieutenant Rand. Sulu and Chekov will make their first appearance in episode 3. Additionally, Transporter Chief Kyle marks his return to the Enterprise as well. Future episodes will feature George Takei (Sulu), Walter Koenig (Chekhov) and Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand).

Is the quality and production value up to today's standards? Probably not. Is it a lot of fun to watch? Absolutely!

Bush Approves United Arab Emirates Firm's Control Over 6 U.S. Ports

2006-02-19T12:25:00.000-05:00

A company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is poised to take over operations at six American ports as part of a corporate sale, leaving a country with ties to the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers with influence over a maritime industry considered vulnerable to terrorism.

The Bush administration considers the UAE an important ally in the fight against terrorism since the suicide hijackings and is not objecting to Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

The $6.8 billion sale would affect commercial port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

NEW JERSEY? OK, now i'm pissed!

So why is this not being blocked by Bush? The UAE has ties to Saudi Arabia which has ties to both the 9/11 hijackers and the Carlyle Group. The Carlyle Group investors, which includes George's daddy, watched the World Trade towers go down, and the group's prospects go up. It's own marketing literature calls itself "a vast, interlocking, global network of businesses and investment professionals". We must consider the fact that U.S. president George W. Bush is in a position to make budgetary decisions that could pad his father's bank account. The group has amassed $14 billion in funds under management.

CSX Lines, the U.S. container shipping subsidiary of CSX Inc., will be sold to the Carlyle Group for $300 million. The acquisition will give Carlyle control over the nation's largest container fleet and will add to the company's growing transportation portfolio. Through United Defense Industries, Carlyle also controls United States Marine Repair, the nation's largest non-nuclear ship repair and conversion company.

John Snow, the CEO of CSX, was appointed Treasury Secretary by the younger President Bush last week.

The State Department describes the UAE as a vital partner in the fight against terrorism. But the UAE, a loose federation of seven emirates on the Saudi peninsula, was an important operational and financial base for the hijackers who carried out the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the FBI concluded.

By the way, George obviously thinks it's all right to allow terrorists to control the port of New Orleans while at the same time ignoring the plight of the people there.

Batman Takes Aim at Osama

2006-02-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

Beware, terrorists! Batman, the Caped Crusader is targeting a villain more sinister than the Joker or Dick Cheney — Osama bin Laden.

At the WonderCon 2006 comic book convention, legendary comics writer and artist Frank Miller revealed that Batman would hunt down bin Laden and al Qaeda in his next DC Comics graphic novel. In "Holy Terror, Batman!" the Caped Crusader goes after the terror leader and his organization after Gotham City is attacked by terrorists.

Miller said his anger over both the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and subsequent acts of terror worldwide had inspired his latest work. Miller called "Holy Terror, Batman!" a "piece of propaganda" where "Batman kicks al Qaeda's ass." He said his graphic novel channeled an era in the comic-book industry when writers and artists used heroes to spread a clear message and generate patriotism.

I have the utmost confidence that an imaginary character like Batman will have more success in finding Osama Bin Laden than our miserable excuse for a president, George Bush. At least Batman will actually be looking for Osama. Mr. Bush is too busy counting his oil profits, defying the Constitution, destroying the environment, committing treason, and starting illegal wars.

Bush Has Plan to Give $7 Billion Windfall to Oil Companies

2006-02-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

The Bush administration is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways to the oil and gas industry in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years.

New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government.

Based on the administration figures, the government will give up more than $7 billion in payments between now and 2011 even though the administration assumes that oil prices will remain above $50 a barrel throughout that period.

Administration officials say that the benefits are dictated by laws and regulations that date back to 1996. Rather than take responsibility for this giveaway, Bush is going to blame it on Clinton when in reality, it's just more of the same type of kickback given to his big oil company cronies.

In addition, Mr. Bush and House Republicans are trying to kill a one-year, $5 billion windfall profits tax for oil companies that the Senate passed last fall. This creep has no shame.

In total, the government said it would lose a total of nearly $35 billion in royalties to taxpayers by 2011 — about the same amount that Mr. Bush is proposing to cut from Medicare, Medicaid, student aid, and child support enforcement programs over the same period. These actions, combined with the reversal of any environmental regulation that would cost fuel companies profits, make Mr. Bush the most notorious criminal ever to inhabit the White House.

Send Your Honey an Anatomical Heart for Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

Anatomical Heart Soap

Oozin' Heart Palpitations!

Fits in your hand perfectly!

This design is exclusive to FeMaledictions.

Approximate Weight: 6 oz.

"my heart is in your hands, and I'll be missing you".
- Styx

Cheney's Got a Gun

2006-02-14T10:58:00.000-05:00

"What's all this talk about Vice-President Dick Cheney spraying all over some guy's face with hot pellets? I didn't know he was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with it. It would explain where his daughter got it from, though. I wonder if it was like that movie Deliverance?

Dick has also come under attack for participating in a “canned hunt” in which he kills pheasants that are released for the sole purpose of being shot by hunters. Dick and his mature hunting buddies have a shortened nickname for “canned hunt”. Being a lady, I can't repeat it here.

Anyway, maybe Big Dick will think twice now about same-sex marriage, sex education and women's right to choose. Now that he's come out he can.... what?..... oh........ nevermind".
- Emily Latella

Play the Ann Coulter/Debbie Schlussel Game

2006-02-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

Visit this web site to play the Ann Coulter/Debbie Schlussel Game. Try to guess which dried up, miserable excuse for a woman wrote these movie reviews.

Remember: They're identical republican whores so either one of them could've spit similar venom.

CUE THEME MUSIC (ADAPTED FROM "THE PATTY DUKE SHOW"):

Meet Annie who flips her long blonde hair
She makes no sense; she doesn't care.
But Debbie wants to be her clone,
Spew lurid piffle of her own --
What a crazy pair!

Because they're pundits,
Identical pundits, and you'll find
They look alike, they think alike,
They like to drink Kool-Aid alike.
You will lose your mind
When pundits are two of a kind!

Too Much Time on Their Hands Department

2006-02-12T09:43:00.000-05:00

It's a question that has taxed generations of the finest minds in physics: do humans swim slower in syrup than in water? And since you ask, the answer's no. Scientists have filled a swimming pool with a syrupy mixture and proved it.

"What appealed was the bizarreness of the idea," says Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, who led the experiment. It's a question that also fascinated his student Brian Gettelfinger, a competitive swimmer.

Cussler and Gettelfinger took more than 300 kilograms of guar gum, an edible thickening agent found in salad dressings, ice cream and shampoo, and dumped it into a 25-metre swimming pool, creating a gloopy liquid twice as thick as water. "It looked like snot," says Cussler.

The reason you don't swim slower in syrup, explains Cussler, is that while you experience more "viscous drag" (basically friction from your movement through the fluid) as the water gets thicker, you generate more forwards force from every stroke. The two effects cancel each other out.

Cussler and his team are looking forward to repeating the experiment with a swimming pool filled with snot.

The perfect swimmer, whether in water or syrup, has powerful muscles but a narrow frontal profile. "The best swimmer should have the body of a snake and the arms of a gorilla," recommends Cussler.

Genetic modification experiments begin next month.

Bush Slashes Public Broadcast Funds

2006-02-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

President George W. Bush took a swipe at Kermit, Miss Piggy, Big Bird and their friends Monday as he proposed slashing funds to public broadcasting by more than $157 million.

"Oscar the Grouch has been friendlier to the Sesame Street characters than President Bush, who has chosen to make huge cuts to children's television programming," said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. " In a world of fast-and-furious television with ratings-driven content, the public broadcasting system represents the last stronghold of quality child-oriented programming -- we owe this to America's children."

Instead, this administration seeks more money for the military and seeks to make Bush's first-term tax cuts permanent.

In his $2.77 billion budget, Bush asks Congress to sharply cut or eliminate 141 government programs. Almost one-third of the targeted programs are in education, including ones that provide money to support the arts, vocational education, parent resource centers and drug-free schools.

"My administration has focused the nation's resources on our highest priority -- protecting our citizens and our homeland," Bush said in his budget message.

Invading Iraq transformed that country into the leading training camp for terrorism, invoked higher levels of hatred from the Muslim world and inspired free elections that placed known terrorists in power. The only thing George Bush has accomplished is to make his friends at Haliburton rich with no-bid contracts. His Leave No Child Behind program is a massive failure and now he wants to wipe out children's educational programming because Karl Rove told him that CPB has a liberal bias.

This man is accelerating his plan to totally destroy everything that's good in this country. November 2008 may be too late to rid ourselves of this cancer.

IMPEACH GEORGE BUSH NOW!

Iran is World's Top Sponsor of Terrorism (This Week)

2006-02-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Iran on Saturday of being the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, a charge that his Iranian counterpart rejected as "ridiculous" and "outrageous."

"The Iranian regime is today the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," Rumsfeld told an annual security conference in Munich where talk of Iran's nuclear program was at the top of the agenda.

Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar was quoted by Iranian state television as saying Rumsfeld's comments were "outrageous remarks and a ridiculous projection by the White House leaders." "Rumsfeld had better try to act responsibly for the disgrace of attacking Iraq, because the people of the world will never forget the torturing of the prisoners of Abu-Ghraib," he said.

Rumsfeld went on to say that last week the center of terrorism was Iraq and the week before that it was Libya. He also said that the Bush administration was working hard on determining new sponsors of terrorism for the future. France, Canada, New Zealand and California are being considered.

The Republican Culture of Corruption.

2006-02-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

President Bush proposed a $2.77 trillion budget today that calls for cutbacks in a range of domestic programs and an unrelenting resolve to lock in permanently the tax cuts to the rich that the administration pushed through Congress in recent years.

The budget comes as no surprise from the Bush presidency, putting national security and tax cuts above all other considerations and gradually tightening or reducing spending on programs, including educational loans, health, environment, farm subsidies and national parks. Mr. Bush is proposing to limit the growth in Medicare spending, at a savings of $36 billion over the next five years.

The Senate's minority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, attempted to tie the budget to the recent Washington lobbying scandals, saying that the programs that Mr. Bush saved were part of what he called "the Republican culture of corruption."

"While working Americans are facing higher prices for everything from health care to gas to college tuition, this president's budget continues to hand out costly, budget-busting favors for special interests like the drug, oil, and H.M.O. industries," Reid said. "After creating record deficits and debt with his budget-busting tax breaks, the president is asking our seniors, our students and our families to clean up his fiscal mess with painful cuts in health care and student aid."

When are the American people going to wake up and realize that this president has and will never do anything to benefit them? Mr. Bush has his dirty hands in every special interest kickback including energy and drugs. He has reversed virtually every environmental regulation created by the Clinton administration because his big industrial polluter buddies threw money at his campaign. He is cutting financial aid for students in order to increase enlistment in the army because he needs more bodies in Iraq and our children will have no place else to go.

Kill Cupid Game

2006-02-05T09:53:00.000-05:00

As described by the author:

"We are protesting Valentine's Day - it has mostly to do with my first girlfriend and all of the subsequent money I have thrown away on this holiday. We have a fun flash game where you get to kill cupid with a rifle, machine gun, and a rocket launcher. You'll love it."

Play the Game

Bush Rigs Trial for Cheney Ex-Aide, Scooter Libby By Appointing Judge to Delay Trial

2006-02-04T11:19:00.000-05:00

The trial of Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, in the C.I.A. leak case will start next January 2007, a federal judge said today.

District Judge Reggie B. Walton said jury selection will begin on Jan. 8, 2007. Judge Walton said that he had hoped the trial could begin next September, but that Mr. Libby's lawyer, Theodore V. Wells Jr., will be tied up with another case (aww...).

Judge Reggie B. Walton assumed his position as a United States District Judge for the District of Columbia on October 29, 2001, after being nominated to the position by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate.

Republicans are likely to be pleased that the trial will be held after the Congressional elections.

Pleased? Ya think? Bush has manipulated the courts (again) to delay Scooter's trial until after the November elections. Since George believes the average citizen is an idiot he knows that we'll forget about Mr. Libby and the level of republican corruption. What a guy!

Mr. Libby has pleaded not guilty to five charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with the exposure of a C.I.A. operative's identity. Mr. Libby was indicted in October by a special prosecutor who charged that he had misled investigators about his role in disclosing the identity of the C.I.A. operative Valerie Wilson in discussions with reporters.

Will and Fall from Grace

2006-02-03T18:45:00.000-05:00

A conservative advocacy group turned its wrath on Thursday to an upcoming "Will & Grace" episode that it says will mock Christ's crucifixion. In the episode, scheduled to air on April 13, Jack's fictional TV network is bought by a Christian broadcaster, leading Britney Spears' character to do an Easter cooking segment on Jack's show called "Cruci-fixin's."

The American Family Association, run by right-wing fundamentalist Donald Wildmon, immediately raised objections to the planned episode, saying it "mocks the crucifixion of Christ" and will "further denigrate Christianity" by airing the night before Good Friday.

"NBC does not treat Jews, Muslims or other religions with such disrespect," the Mississippi-based group said on its Web site. "Yet the network demonstrates a deep hostility toward followers of Christ."

The advocacy group called on its supporters to write letters of protest to NBC executives. It also included an appeal for a "small donation to help us in this effort."

Hey, Donny boy, lighten up. It's called humor, ever hear of it? Sure, Will and Grace makes fun of Christianity.... and Jews, gays, alcoholics, drug addicts, fat people, Hispanics, WASPs... did I mention Jews? Jesus himself would laugh at this show. You know why, Wildmonster? Because Jesus was a Jew and Jews have a sense of humor!

You know what's not funny? The fact that you're taking money from people under false pretenses....again.

Robbing the Poor to Feed the Rich

2006-02-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

House Approves $40 Billion In Cuts To Welfare, Child Support, Student Lending, Medicaid...

White House To Request $70 Billion More To Spend In Iraq And Afghanistan...

Maybe it's time to wake up, America........What do you think?

House of Representatives Vote Against Children and Mentally Ill

2006-01-31T15:41:00.000-05:00

The House of Representatives is expected to vote, February 1, on an ill-conceived budget reconciliation bill. The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) warns that, if passed, this measure will irreparably tear apart the only safety net for millions of Americans.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) advised congressional leaders late last week of the devastating impact of the bill’s Medicaid cuts. Acknowledging that the human impact could be far deeper, CBO projected that:

* 75% of the bill’s Medicaid cuts would harm beneficiaries.

* Beneficiaries will carry billions in savings through lost benefits, increasing from roughly 900,000 enrollees sustaining such loss in 2010 to an estimated 1.6 million in 2015.

* Most of the reductions in benefits would be for services such as dental, vision, and mental health.

* Billions in savings will be achieved by reducing the number of Americans covered by Medicaid and increasing the barriers to coverage.

* 60% of those losing coverage will be children.

* 13 million people (including 4.5 million children) will face higher cost sharing to access health care).

* 80% of the savings (more than $5.5 billion) from higher cost-sharing would be realized from people foregoing needed services or medications because of increased out-of-pocket costs.

* Thousands would lose coverage altogether because of new requirements to pay premiums, climbing to a high of 65,000 losing coverage in 2015.

Without treatments and services, many adults with mental illness face homelessness, incarceration, serious health problems, substance abuse and even suicide. For children, loss of coverage and barriers to treatment and early evaluation may lead to a downward spiral of school failure, poor employment opportunities, and poverty in adulthood. Any “ savings” this legislation might produce will be overtaken by people becoming sicker, resulting in increased costs to taxpayers and communities in emergency-care services, homelessness, penal and juvenile-justice facilities, and even loss of life.

These cuts are being made so that George Bush can fund his tax giveaways to the rich. Let's vote these creeps out in 2006.

Will Serenity Fly Again?

2006-01-31T10:07:00.000-05:00

Ace Underhill (no, really), an entrepreneur is trying to acquire the rights to the Firefly/Serenity franchise for purposes of mounting a second season to be distributed in alternative media.

Underhill told SCI FI Wire that he has contacted Firefly creator Joss Whedon's representatives about starting up a new season of Firefly, which the Fox broadcast network canceled after a single season in 2003.

Underhill said in an interview: "If he contacts me and says, 'Hey, we're not interested in Firefly anymore' then I will abandon the project, and essentially it's over at that point. I'm not looking to create a cheap knockoff of the series without Joss' input. So that's not going to happen. ... If he's not going to be involved, then there is no project. There's no point."

Underhill added that he has contacted members of the Firefly/Serenity cast and had received a few rate quotes from agents, but he declined to say who. He acknowledged that he had not yet heard from Firefly/Serenity star Nathan Fillion.

I own all of the TV episodes and the theatrical film on DVD and I absolutely love this show. It's completely unique and truly fits the description "space western". It has humor, action, drama, cool weopons and horses. No series has warranted this kind of grassroots support since "Star Trek". If you haven't seen it yet, rent or buy it immediately.

Too Much Time on Their Hands Department

2006-01-29T20:38:00.000-05:00

Japanese Scientists Identify Ear Wax Gene

Earwax may not play a prominent part in human history but at least a small role for it has now been found by a team of Japanese researchers. Earwax comes in two types, wet and dry. The wet form predominates in Africa and Europe and the dry form among East Asians, while populations of Southern and Central Asia are roughly half and half. By comparing the DNA of Japanese with each type, the researchers were able to identify the gene that controls which type a person has, they report in the Monday issue of Nature Genetics.

They write that earwax type and armpit odor are correlated, since populations with dry earwax tend to sweat less and have little or no body odor, whereas the wet earwax populations sweat more and so may have greater body odor.

This could open up a whole Pandora's box of discrimination and harassment:

1. Children devising new ways to torment each other - "oh yeah? your momma has wet ear wax!".

2. New rifts between parents and daughters - "you cannot marry that wet ear wax boy...he's not our kind. What kind of children would you have? Semi-moist ear wax kids?"

3. "Oh no, a wet ear wax family is moving next door. There goes the neighborhood."

4. Illegal immigrants would become known as "wet wax".

5. People with wet ear wax might be forced to sit in the back of the bus, drink from separate fountains or be forced to live in separate housing "earmarked" for them.

No matter what their differences are, the dry and wet ear wax people have one thing in common:

They both hate the hairy ear people.

Robot Pours Chilled Beer for Thirsty Humans

2006-01-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Japanese beer maker Asahi plans to give away 5,000 personal bartending robots, each of which can store up to six cans of beer in a refrigerated compartment within its belly. At the push of a button the simple robots will open a can and pour the chilled contents into a glass for a thirsty owner.

Hmm...it's the right height. If only it had a flat head and no teeth.

From Little Acorns...

2006-01-29T09:59:00.000-05:00

Jack Abramoff ran for student council president at Hawthorne High School in Beverly Hills in 1972.

Abramoff got disqualified for exceeding the school's campaign spending limits. He gave out free hot dogs at a party.

George Bush is using this as the basis for a new federal program called "No Bribe Left Behind".

Rechargeable Batteries Using Urine

2006-01-27T20:09:00.000-05:00

Physicists in Singapore have developed a battery that can be powered by human urine. A team at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology developed a paper battery which is designed to be cheap to produce, and use urine as its power charge source.

Imagine the uses: recharge your cellphone, mp3 player, digital camera and more just by pissing on them.

Recharge your hearing aid by having a friend piss in your ear.

During the Christmas season when you need batteries for your kids toys -- tell them to piss off!

Perhaps there'd be a new size battery - the P battery.

People Say the Darnedest Things

2006-01-26T16:02:00.000-05:00

"Look, it's hard for me to say I didn't have pictures with the guy when I did. And the man contributed to my campaigns...and this needs to be cleared up so the people have confidence in the system."

George Bush when asked about Jack Abramoff at press conference
January 26, 2006

Like A Virgin?

2006-01-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

This is a photograph of:
a. Michael Jackson on a good day
b. Faye Dunaway sucking a lemon
c. An Orc from Lord of the Rings
d. Nosferatu
e. Madonna

(the answer is "e" - be afraid, be very afraid)

Google - Shame on You

2006-01-26T12:45:00.000-05:00

Google will be called to task in Washington on February 16 following the decision by the internet search engine to launch a China-based version of its website that will censor results. This represents the first sign of what could become a serious backlash against Google and other internet companies in Washington perceived as capitulating to the Chinese government.

Google is accused of collaborating with persecutors who imprison and torture Chinese citizens.

The two founders of Google are worth 7.2 billion dollars each and sales last year approached 4 billion dollars.

The Google corporate slogan is "You can make money without doing evil". Maybe they should add "but you can make more the other way".

Holy Smokes!

2006-01-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

An Orthodox priest has been arrested by police in Bulgaria for selling cannabis joints to parishioners.

The drugs were allegedly offered by Father Kiril Papudov, said to be the most popular of the priests working around the villages of Kladenci and Borovichene.

He was caught by undercover drug squad officers who say they found 128oz of high quality cannabis in the his home.

Father Papudov gives new meaning to "Angels We Have Heard On High".

The Buttafuocos and Amy Fisher Plan TV Reunion

2006-01-23T23:53:00.000-05:00

More than a decade after 16-year-old Amy Fisher had a sexual relationship with a much-older car mechanic and then shot his wife in the face, the one-time "Long Island Lolita" and Joey and Mary Jo Buttafuoco have agreed to appear together in a televised reunion performing such hits as "Bang, bang...she shot me down", "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" and "Can't Get It Out of My Head".

"It's time to just put it behind us," said Fisher, now 31, "We played this all out in a public eye. It'd be interesting to let the public see the healing process at the end. They saw everything else — why not let them see the final product?"

The final product? Don't we already know the final product? Amy got out of prison complete with the skills necessary for a successful career as a corrections officer in a womens prison complete with an ample stock of cigarettes and chocolate. Joey Buttafuoco, who has remarried, was sentenced in 2004 to a year in jail and five years' probation after pleading guilty to felony insurance fraud. In 2005, he pleaded not guilty to charges that he violated probation by possessing ammunition. In other words, a model citizen.

And Mary Jo's head still sets off metal detectors.

Fisher spent seven years in prison. Joey Buttafuoco, who was jailed for statutory rape following the 1992 shooting, said he planned to ask Fisher to explain her actions. "I've been asked about a million times by Mary Jo, 'Why did Amy shoot me?' I was never able to get that answer," said Buttafuoco, now 49.

Joey, the answer is one of the following choices:

a. Amy wanted to buy the house next door and needed to reduce the property value quickly.
b. Amy was conducting a study of 9-1-1 response times.
c. Mary Jo, after denying Amy's request to borrow a cup of sugar, said "what are you gonna do...shoot me?"
d. Joey wanted Mary Jo dead and manipulated young Amy to do the deed for him."

The really sad part of this is that this motley crew gets a television special but The West Wing gets cancelled. Normally I wouldn't watch this kind of tripe but I'll watch it in the name of journalistic integrity. I guess I'll make room on my Tivo for this...but I'll delete it after 2 or 3 viewings.

Setting the Record Striaght

2006-01-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

Deborah Howell of the Washington Post recently wrote a column that implied that Jack Abramoff gave money to both Democrats and republicans. Here she sets the record straight with the real truth:

"I wrote that he gave campaign money to both parties and their members of Congress. He didn't. I should have said he directed his client Indian tribes to make campaign contributions to members of Congress from both parties."

"My mistake set off a firestorm. I heard that I was lying, that Democrats never got a penny of Abramoff-tainted money, that I was trying to say it was a bipartisan scandal, as some Republicans claim. I didn't say that. It's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal, and that's why the Republicans are scurrying around trying to enact lobbying reforms."

The Daily Kos takes the analysis of the situation one step further:

"George W. Bush calls indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff "an equal money dispenser'' who helped politicians of both parties. Campaign donation records show Republicans were a lot more equal than Democrats. Between 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to Republican candidates and committees and nothing to Democrats, federal records show. At the same time, his Indian clients were the only ones among the top 10 tribal donors in the U.S. to donate more money to Republicans than Democrats. . . . Of the top 10 political donors among Indian tribes in that period, three are former clients of Abramoff and Scanlon: the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of California. All three gave most of their donations to Republicans -- by margins of 30 percentage points or more -- while the rest favored Democrats. . . . Abramoff's tribal clients continued to give money to Democrats even after he began representing them, although in smaller percentages than in the past. The Saginaw Chippewas gave $500,500 to Republicans between 2001 and 2004 and $277,210 to Democrats, according to a review of data compiled by Dwight L. Morris & Associates, a Bristow, Virginia-based company that tracks campaign-finance reports."

Jack Abramoff pushed his Indian tribe clients AWAY from Democrats and TO republicans. That is, Abramoff DIRECTED his Indian tribe clients to give LESS or NOT AT ALL to Democrats and to give MORE OR ALL of their contributions to Republicans.

Even George Bush can understand that.

A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words

2006-01-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has said that Jack Abramoff might have attended large gatherings with George Bush but added, “The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him.”

HA! LIES! MORE LIES!

The President's memory may soon be unhappily refreshed. TIME magazine has seen five photographs of Abramoff and the President that suggest a level of contact between them that Bush's aides have downplayed. The fear of the Bush team is that a picture of the President with the admitted felon could become proof of direct presidential involvement in a burgeoning corruption scandal.

In one shot that TIME saw, Bush appears with Abramoff and Raul Garza Sr., a Texan Abramoff represented who was then chairman of the Kickapoo Indians, which owned a casino in southern Texas. Another photo shows Bush shaking hands with Abramoff in front of a window. The shot bears Bush's signature. Three other photos are of Bush, Abramoff and, in each view, one of the lobbyist's sons. A sixth picture shows several Abramoff children with Bush and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is now pushing to tighten lobbying laws after declining to do so last year when the scandal was in its early stages.

Michael Scanlon, who is Abramoff's former partner and has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a Congressman, told the New Times that Abramoff had "a relationship" with the President. "He doesn't have a bat phone or anything, but if he wanted an appointment, he would have one," Scanlon said.

Smile, George..........you're on Candid Camera!

George Bush's Medicare Take High Toll on Mentally Ill

2006-01-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

On the seventh day of George Bush's new Medicare drug benefit, Stephen Starnes began hearing voices again, and he started to beg for the medications he had been taking for 10 years. But his pharmacy could not get approval from his Medicare drug plan, so Mr. Starnes was forced to be admitted to a hospital for treatment of paranoid schizophrenia. Mr. Starnes, 49, lives in Dayspring Village, an assisted living center for people with mental illness. When he gets his medications, he is stable.

Mix-ups in the first weeks of the Medicare drug benefit have vexed many beneficiaries and pharmacists. Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein, president of the American Psychiatric Association, said the transition from Medicaid to Medicare had had a particularly severe impact on low-income patients with serious, persistent mental illnesses.

"Relapse, rehospitalization and disruption of essential treatment are some of the consequences," Dr. Sharfstein said.

Dr. Jacqueline M. Feldman, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama, said that two of her patients with schizophrenia had gone to a hospital emergency room because they could not get their medications. Dr. Feldman, who is also the director of a community mental health center, said "relapse is becoming more frequent" among her low-income Medicare patients.

At Dayspring Village, the 80 residents depend heavily on medications. Most of the residents are on Medicare, because they have disabilities, and Medicaid, because they have low incomes. Before Jan. 1, the state's Medicaid program covered their drugs at no charge. Since then, the residents have been covered by a private insurance company under contract to Medicare.

For the first time, residents of Dayspring Village found this month that they were being charged co-payments for their drugs, typically $3 for each prescription. The residents take an average of eight or nine drugs, so the co-payments can take a large share of their cash allowance, which is $54 a month.

Under the Medicare law, low-income people entitled to both Medicare and Medicaid are exempted from all co-payments if they live in a nursing home. But the exemption does not apply to people in assisted living centers like Dayspring Village.

Douglas D. Adkins, executive director of Dayspring Village, said: "Some of the pharmacists have been saying, 'No pills unless we get a co-payment.' Well, how are these people going to get the money for a co-payment? They don't have it."

Maybe George Bush's rich, republican friends can donate some of the billions they stole. Or even better, let's wrest control of our country from the republicans and give it back to the Democrats so we can begin to repair the damage caused by George Bush and his mob.

Six Ex-EPA Chiefs Blame Bush in Global Warming

2006-01-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

Six former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency — five Republicans and one Democrat — accused the Bush administration Wednesday of neglecting global warming and other environmental problems. Some quotes:

"I don't think there's a commitment in this administration."

"Slowing the growth of greenhouse gases isn't enough."

"We need leadership, and I don't think we're getting it. To sit back and just push it away and say we'll deal with it sometime down the road is dishonest to the people and self-destructive."

"If the United States doesn't deal with those kinds of issues in a leadership role, they're not going to get dealt with. So I'm very concerned about this country and this agency."

"You'd need to be in a hole somewhere to think that the amount of change that we have imposed on land, and the way we've handled deforestation, farming practices, development, and what we're putting into the air, isn't exacerbating what is probably a natural trend. But this is worse, and it's getting worse."

"Agency heads during five Republican administrations, including the current one, criticized the Bush White House for what they described as a failure of leadership."

"President Bush has rejected mandatory controls on carbon dioxide, the chief gas blamed for trapping heat in the atmosphere like a greenhouse. Bush also kept the United States out of the Kyoto international treaty to reduce greenhouse gases globally, saying it would harm the U.S. economy, after many of the accord's terms were negotiated by the Clinton administration."

Impeaching George Bush would be the first major step in improving waste management.