Rising Hegemon

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Erudition and Edification

As all of you probably know, I aspire to make this a quality blog, where discourse is encouraged in its highest form. Sort of a classic era "New Yorker".

But then again, I am also incredibly self-destructive and used to having my dreams cruelly dashed, so fuck it:

VIDEOTAPE of Jenna Bush in very high spirits at a bachelorette party is being sold and could end up on national TV by the end of the week. Luckily for Jenna, the cameraman missed "the high point . . . Jenna on all fours doing 'the butt dance' — and doing it very well — as guys were ogling her thong," said our source. Club patrons do the suggestive dance when the deejay plays the 1988 hit "Da Butt," by E.U. The president's blond daughter arrived at NerveAna, a '90s-themed lounge on Varick Street, at 10:30 p.m. last Friday with several other pretty young things in a battered old blue minivan.

Nothing for O'Reilly...Again?

The Peabody Awards were announced today, and in addition to O'Reilly, once again Sherman didn't win jack either.

"Quiet You"

Among the winners, was a favorite target for the Right-Wing Goon Squad. Now they can cut and paste their outrage about the Pulitizers and go after the Peabody Awards.

CBS News won a Peabody Award on Thursday for its report on abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a story anchored by Dan Rather and produced by Mary Mapes, who was later fired by CBS for her role in the story about President Bush's military service.

Good for Mary Mapes.

Meltdown?

Ah, now that it turns out the the Schiavo Memo was not, as implied by her, a Democratic plant (i.e. somebody workin' for Harry Reid) but actually somebody who worked for Republican Mel Martinez, there is some serious gymnastic jujitsu (irony?) going on at MichelleMaglalockthemarabsup.com

I suppose describing it as a meltdown may be a little strong, but it does give me a chance to post these Michelle Malkin Action Photos that cover the gamut of her moods:

Angry

Deranged

Enraged...and hungry!

Confused

Fantasizing

Sultry, naturally followed by...

Sexual Release

I Cannot Resist

"Dammit George, I stepped in your privitization plan!"

Mary Magdalene, Byron York and Gilligan wait in line to see the Pope.

More Appropriate Lou Dobbs "Polls"

Other, more prominant bloggers than thou already commented on this ridiculous internet poll from Lou Dobbs:

LOU DOBBS TONIGHT QUICKVOTE
Do you believe House Majority Leader Tom Delay is the victim of a campaign by the “liberal” media to embarrass him?
Yes
No

As opposed to the poll that could be up pretty much everyday at Lou Dobbs site:

"So, should I talk about how much I despise those dangerous ~~wetbacks~~ Mexicans?"

Yes
Yes

Do NOT Dare stand in the way of the Beatification...

Now that the Schiavo memo is known to have been real (something even THEY have been forced to admit) the Grand ~~Poobah~~ Doughy Pantload of the intersection of Meme Street & WhatevertheClenissaysImagainstit Avenue has to search, and search hard for something new to be offended about:

HUH? [Jonah Goldberg]

Does this sound a bit snippy? I don't mind the joke about the crowd. But why is the former president, formally representing the US at the pope's funeral, talking about the pope's "mixed legacy"?

From AP: Clinton said he recognized that John Paul "may have had a mixed legacy," but he called him a man with a great feel for human dignity.

And, Clinton said, noting the throngs the pope would consistently draw, said, "The man knows how to build a crowd."

Posted at 05:31 PM

Perhaps some formerly diddled alter boy can explain the truth of this statement to Jonah. Or, for once, I'll let fellow frequent target of scorn, Andrew Sullivan do it (because he is spot on)

Under John Paul II (and his predecessors), the Roman Catholic church presided over the rape and molestation of thousands of children and teenagers. Under John Paul II, the church at first did all it could to protect its own and to impugn and threaten the victims of this abuse. Rome never acknowledged, let alone take responsibility for, the scale of the moral betrayal. I was staggered to see Cardinal Bernard Law holding press conferences in Rome this week, and appearing on television next to the man who announced the Pope's death. But that was the central reaction of the late Pope to this scandal: he sided with the perpetrators, because they were integral to his maintenance of power. When you hear about this Pope's compassion, his concern for the victims of society, his love of children, it's important to recall that when it came to walking the walk in his own life and with his own responsibility, he walked away. He all but ignored his church's violation of the most basic morality - that you don't use the prestige of the church to rape innocent children. Here was a man who lectured American married couples that they could not take the pill, who told committed gay couples that they were part of an "ideology of evil," but acquiesced and covered up the rape of minors. When truth met power, John Paul II chose truth. When truth met his power, John Paul II defended his own prerogatives at the expense of the innocent. Many have forgotten. That's not an option for the victims of this clerical criminality.

A Note about Offensive Posting

Look, I realize that some folks are going to be offended by some jokes. Comedy isn't pretty.

I would HOPE that when Republicans visit here they are offended on occasion, while at the same time at least some of them capable of rational thought would realize that part of dealing with the powerful is cutting them down to size through humor. It's a defense mechanism, it is a SANITY mechanism.

But one thing that strikes me as almost as humorous as a good caption is WHAT people are offended by.

In the last month, I've made fun of JimmyJeff Gannon and made one double-entendre after another about his relationship to various folks;

I've mocked the whole Terry Schiavo situation with bad puns and tasteless skits.

And in the wake of the death of the Pope I've done the same, including wisecracks about the Church's pedophilia scandals and even had a joke about Jesus using the Pope's corpse as a trampoline.

And yet, nobody really evidenced they were offended...some did the obvious and said it was tasteless...tasteless but funny.

So what did somebody finally draw the line at?

A post about Bush modifying the POPEMOBILE!

Someone commented:

Is the popemobile image appropriate at this time?

All this other stuff I do, and you get offended over a picture of the Popemobile?

WTF?

Yawn...

Attaturk was working late last night and when he got home switched on the idiot box and stopped by C-SPAN (you never know when they will be giving a Holocaust deniar carte blanche so I feel a duty to play Simon Wiesenthal).

But there was no David Irving apologist...unless you count Cheney (hmmmmm)...on the channel. Not it was the "White House Correspondence Dinner". Or as it is known to JimmyJeff Gannon..."PAYDAY!!!"

What an awful event. I love Lewis Black, but never has there been a worse accoustic broadcast. C-Span had two audio feeds. Whatever came from the dais, and the audio picked up from their camera in the audience. The dais audio made it appear that Black was bombing more than a Bush Social Security Proposal; the audience camera made it sound like a busload full of evangelical's cheering for more scourging during a screening of "The Passion of the 'Key-Rist'".

Again, I love Black, but his act was so constrained by this event, and his desire to continue to have a career. How much did he get paid for a 20 Minute set without swearing or his act?

I tell you what White House Correspondents, for half the cost I would have done a set. For 20 minutes I'd just look at Cheney to my right and I'd say...

"FUCK YOU DICK, seriously, FUCK YOU! And before I am hauled away, FUCK YOU LYNN, in fact FUCK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!...Where's my 5 grand?"

Granted not funny, but still...

Dear Leader hangs his head in disappointment as his father tells him, "No Son, they are not preparing to catapault the body across Rome. Though you're right, it would be pretty damn cool."

From Left to Right:

Dear Leader: "I think that's Khatami over their looking at me all squirrely"

Lump: "Dear God...Have I not also been your faithful servant? So please, how about a little payback for Laura? If you can hear me Lord, lightning bolt three down on the left."

Lower Father: "Hey, check it out, that nun is totally checking me out."

Bubba: "Hey Sister."

Condi" "Dear Lord, have I not been your faithful servant? So please a little payback for Condi? If you can hear me Lord, lightning bolt three down on the right."

April 5, 2005, 5:30 a.m.

April 5, 2005, 5:30 p.m.

Blog of the Year!

AmericaBlog reddens Powerline's bulbous ass.

He also exposes the additional fraudulencies of the usual suspects.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Glass Half Whatever

Ordinarily I like to think of myself as a guy who wanders through life seeing the good in just about everything, a typical glass half-full guy. I know it doesn't always sound that way but for friends and members of my fan club I always have a positive word.

Since November I have tried to see things in a way that doesn't disrupt too much that cheery demeanor I carry around but I gotta tell ya, it is getting difficult. Why? The moron that inhabits the White House oversees a government of really evil people. And every once in a while, like a volcano that needs to blow-off just a little steam, I have to just let go.

We are so fucked. I know, America is a great nation, bigger than politics and its leaders and all that, but there are some bad people running the ship to ground. God help the poor SOB that inherits this economy, this environment, this banking system, this war apparatus, this messed up foreign policy (or lack thereof), Terry Schiavo, the results of domestic policy including the Patriot Act, this goverment's policy on world poverty, hunger, and women's rights, and judges, we can't forget judges.

So even for a glass-half-full guy, it seems too scary to consider. But there is always tomorrow when I hope I'll feel better.

The Cost of the Culture of Life

John Stewart, of "The Daily Show" who is arguably one of the most incisive news commentators in these difficult times of religious right ascendency, and he does a COMEDY show for fun and well... I guess some pay too, had something like this to say about the Schiavo case:

"Congress today announced that they passed a bill to ensure, guarantee, and enhance lives for all Americans. No, it wasn't Universal Health Care. It was the Terry Shiavo bill."

And on a similar note, I read in my local paper today that a shelter for abused women is having its funding cut in half and will have to refuse services to many needy women seeking physical shelter and safety from violently abusive relationships.

Lets consider the consequences that if a small shelter in the midwest was losing funding, so probably were hundreds more shelters, maybe thousands, in places like Indianapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Seattle, San Francisco, Louisville, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Houston, Denver, Baltimore, Newark.... (I wonder how many city after city after city I can mention to make a point about how many shelters are affected by the lack or cutting of funding.)

Consider how many people will DIE because of that.... women forced to stay with abusive men, and even indirectly, how many children will be severely psychologically damaged because they are forced to live in that abusive household, and whether that might cost more lives, perhaps with those youth as victims, perhaps because they might become so disturbed/damaged as to participate in destructive activities when they got older.

It might be a stretch to say that about any one case, but when one considers how many hundreds, thousands of families will be affected by these cutbacks, there is no doubt that a significant number of lives will be lost.

And the same politicians who supported legislation to "keep Terri Shiavo alive" are the same politicians who support the cutting of these funds.

So much for the culture of life.

Conversation with a Friend

I wanted to share this correspondence with all of you (with my friends permission):

Zee says:

If only Al Gore had won the election!!! Then this Schiavo mess would never have happened and things would be so much better!

I respond:

A little better yes, but how much better? And don't you think the religious right hacking of the enlightenment, science, and rational thought would have continued, they would have to work a little harder then they do now but they would wrap themselves up in another martyr.

Zee says:

I do not see this cases so much as the blurring of church and state, but a ploy by the right to advance their own agenda. I have been particularly struck by commentator's penchant for undermining the rulings and behaviors of judges. Not only in the Schiavo case, but also in the Jackson case. The statements
usually take the form of: "I could care less what the opinions of some activists judges are, the people believe blah, blah, blah." I was particularly struck by a statement by Nancy Grace (a Court TV commentator) responding to a Supreme Court decision about what constitutes pornography as (paraphrasing here): who cares what nine people in Washington have to say about pornography.

I find it disturbing that so called journalists feel so free to undermine the judiciary, the very foundations of our political system.

I feel as if the Schiavo case in particular is being used to advance the conservative agenda of packing the courts with like minded people. And in Diane Rheim (sp?) program, I learned that many would like to see the courts return to 19th century jurisprudence that favors the rights of property over the rights of individuals. So, the bottom line is the solidification of the
religious zealots over the rest of us.

However, they are playing a dangerous game. If conservatives undermine the judiciary itself, it will lose legitimacy in the eyes of the public. So, even if they succeed in turning that branch of government back before the New Deal, they still leave themselves vulnerable to people seeing them as not credible
regardless of how they rule.

I respond:

TV and radio are now designed to push the emotional buttons to maximize ratings and get the ad contracts. They have nowhere to go but downhill, and the information value is now not zero but negative: dummification.

They just missed the possibility that you can also push the wrong button, or pushed the court button too early - and that is what they just may have done. Nancy Grace is very experienced in appealing to the lowest common denominator, and it seems that she is quite conscious of it, even gets a kick out of it (and money, of course), hence her Supreme Court argument. And she does not write her lines. The Larry King team does, for instance, on CNN. But perhaps it does not matter any longer:

The 'rule of law' is already sinking which is a deliberate religious right strategy. Anything that leads to a global mono culture will be supported. Capitalism will increasingly seek diminished relevance of nations and their bodies of law, other than protection of property and personal security (i.e. police, military, and other forms of intelligence), what do we the people have? Religion still is the old stand-by opium for so many. And now that it is attacking the judiciary and what passes for an intellectual class in the US, what will stop them?

But now the stops are gone, and religo-capitalism (courtesy of GWB) is catching up (where it left of in the 19th century. Many jobs now pay less than minimum wage and have no health insurance or are barely subsistence when you consider the cost of health care and insurance for so many. Where are people going to turn? To Religion?

And then there is still the question, if the conservatives loose the next election, so what? Practically everything we are seeing under Bush started under Clinton! The days of the old national democratic/conservative politics are gone. We need a new idea, a new way to think about these things. The danger is not simply conservatives vs. liberals. It is this odd political religious configuration that is willing to push what a few men think is God's special agenda for all of us. Scary.

Bush Security

A comment on another blog (heh heh, another blog like you won't know its Atrios) has me thinking.

How is Bush going to get security over in St. Peters with all that throng around?

Simple, and therein lies perhaps the subtle cleverness of our Chimp-in-Chief.

Like teenagers wanting to tool around in a E-Z-Go Golf Cart, Dear Leader desires to travel in the Popemobile!

He'll paint it Red, White & Blue and cruise throught the throng blowing the horn (modified to play "The Yellow Rose of Texas") and waving at his Dad & Clinton. He'll have the driver do doughnuts in the square.

It will simply be FABULOUS!!!!

UPDATE:

Seeds of Doubt gives us an idea of what it will look like.

Continuing their Embarassing Trend

Thanks to Silleigh a commenter at Atrios.

From the St. Petersburg Times:

Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler, had trouble beginning his rememberence to his sister. After choking back tears, he held up a Purple Heart sent to the family by a Vietnam War veteran. The sender indicated that Schiavo was killed by enemies of the United States, and thus, deserved the award, Schindler said to a standing ovation.

Sweet.

And consistent with a group that is sooooooo adamant about the sanctity of the Purple Heart:

Aiyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Conservatives beware, she is going into Pon Farr:

From the intersection of Lonely Street & Not even Byron York will go out with me Avenue

A MONTH FROM TODAY [K. J. Lopez]
you could be just hitting the sack in warm, welcoming Atlanta, after a long afternoon and evening with NR. (After the NY fundraiser, I'm pretty sure this is when I went to sleep....)

Guilt-free fun, knowing it was all in support of a good cause: NR/NRO's future.
Posted at 07:35 AM

That's right Mr. Neo-Con or Theo-Con, Free Marketer or Tort-Reformer, with enough liquor and GHB you could be hittin' it.

Complete with mating call

You know, I think I can get more juvenile, but I'll have to really dig deep.

Prince Rainier is Dead

Too bad.

In his honor I had put down a hundy at 10 to 1 odds he'd make it to "May Day" and had planned to put my winnings into a Monte Carlo tax shelter.

*Sigh*

Now, since Grace Kelly is dead, I guess all I can do is to hit on the Nancy Grace.

Which I Now Do...

Are you outraged Nancy?
Truly outraged all the time?
Do your eyelids ever close?
Ever not speak your tiny mind?

Attaturk is here awaiting
Self-Loathing, ripe for mating
Will you not hear my siren call?

Bring the 'cuffs, tote your anger
Carry Ball & Gag, some wire hanger
I can pretty much take it all

Excuse me darling, must vomit

Man that hurt.

I for one am shocked....SHOCKED!

That the she-beast of the Intersection of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Street & The Empty Void that is my Life Avenue has been quiet, at this moment for more than 9 hours.

I was pretty confident we'd have a Saul Below is still dead post every 5 minutes, offset by a Prince Rainier is dead post every ten minutes, and who's going to see the Still Dead Pope post every 15.

But the Ionic Breeze Lady? She's totally hot!

Long ago, when only a small handful of people read this blog I pledged my heart to the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze lady:

From April 20, 2004:

Right now I am transfixed, smitten really, with the mid-thirties redhead on the "Sharper Image Air Cleaner" thirty-minute commercial. She is hot in a hausfrau way, cutting up onions, mincing garlic, discussing pollen, smoke and pet dander.

I love you Infomercial lady, grab your Ionic Breeze and come away with me in our 'Winnebago of Love', where we will travel about the country solving crimes, pass out Nexium to heartburn sufferers and visit Indian Casinos from coast to coast....

So you can imagine my utter dismay when I saw this:

The May issue of Consumer Reports hits stands today. The magazine claims that Sharper Image's Professional Series Ionic Breeze Quadra SI737SNX, along with similar air purifiers produced by four other companies, release potentially harmful levels of ozone and fail to remove unwanted particles from the air.

You lied to me, you attractive red-headed minx!

I'm leaving you for the "Overstocked.com" lady!

RUN AWAY!

It's pretty obvious that the pending tossing of "The Hammer" off the H.M.S. Bounty is an inside, preemptive job. The GOP doesn't want DeLay around during the 2006 elections.

So what to do.

Well, I think it is important to remember who, just a few days ago, was on their knees fellating the Republican Yagoda (Stalin's Malignant Dwarf).

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) challenged his liberal critics yesterday to "bring it on," as major conservative groups organized a formal defense against questions about DeLay's ethical conduct.

The groups -- led by David A. Keene of the American Conservative Union and including the Heritage Foundation, Leadership Institute and Family Research Council -- met privately with DeLay last week and pledged to use their grass-roots databases and networks to try to mitigate the damage from news accounts of DeLay's travel and relationships with lobbyists.

The groups' leaders, who said they regard the attacks on DeLay as an attack on the whole conservative movement, also have talked about holding a salute or tribute dinner for DeLay. They said the proceeds would benefit a children's charity not associated with the majority leader.

Oh please, oh please fight for him.

Conservative leaders say defending House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a litmus test for any Republican lawmaker seeking their support, even as a liberal advocacy group announced yesterday it will run commercials questioning Mr. DeLay's ethics in some House Republicans' districts.

And let us hope that some prominant Republicans join in:

After all there is THIS little nugget to tar them with repeatedly,

House Republicans proposed changing their rules last night to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post, a move that would benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders.

The proposed rule change, which several leaders predicted would win approval at a closed meeting today, comes as House Republicans return to Washington feeling indebted to DeLay for the slightly enhanced majority they won in this month's elections. DeLay led an aggressive redistricting effort in Texas last year that resulted in five Democratic House members retiring or losing reelection. It also triggered a grand jury inquiry into fundraising efforts related to the state legislature's redistricting actions.

Or remember when the House Ethics Committee was reorganized to protect DeLay, the GOP said:

Ron Bonjean, Hastert's communications director, said the party's leaders have no intention of giving in. "It's very clear we're at an impasse caused by Democrat partisan politics," he said. "The House has already voted on rules for this Congress, and there is no credible reason to do it again."

And there are so many, many more.

Let's start accumulating "I Love the Hammer" quotes from GOP House members shall we?

More Fact-Based than Reality

Billmon has a review of what is on the Boob-Tube in a typically clever post. Accurate too. A wonderful parody, well done.

Naturally, I hate him.

Politics 101: What Not to Say

Some other blogger mentioned something similar to this, but I'm too lazy to figure out who. Nonetheless...

George Bush, 2003 to Iraqi Insurgents: "Bring it on!" --- Oops.

John Kerry, 2004 to Swiftboat Nutjobs: "Bring it on!" --- Damn.

Tom DeLay, 2005 to Democratic critics of his ethics: "Bring it on!" --- Doesn't Look good for the Bugman.

Sweet

Thanks to AmericaBlog for this:

Newsmax via the New York Post on Monday:

Even though they had plenty of notice that Pope John Paul II was in his last days, the big three television networks have so far opted not to deploy their big guns to Rome to cover his death.

ABC anchorman Peter Jennings, for instance, begged off on making the trek - saying he was "feeling under the weather," according to the New York Post.

The purpose and style of the report was to make Jennings look like a chump.

Of course, we now know that Peter Jennings was really under the weather.

Peter Jennings, the chief ABC News anchorman for more than 20 years, has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will begin outpatient treatment next week, the network said Tuesday.

Any apologies forthcoming?

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

The Religious Right did not Lose

Some progressive blogs (and others in the ol mainstream news) have benn calling the Schiavo case a major defeat for the religious right.

I disagree that the Christian right has suffered a defeat. It was the Schindlers who lost; the Christian right gained a martyr, energized its base, and got a great deal of publicity for its so-called "culture of life."

Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken, the Schiavo case has helped to solidify what is really part of the pope's legacy--a growing block of hard-right Catholic clergy in the U.S. that has developed an alliance with its Protestant counterparts.

These clergy were very vocal in the anti-Kerry campaign, and they have doubtless been emboldened by the lack of a popular or official backlash. As a side-effect, the support among Republican politicians for the "nuclear option" in the Senate has doubtless been hardened; they now have "proof" that the judiciary is out
of control and needs to be reigned in by judges who will promote the most extreme elements of their agenda.

One more thought: Republicans compared Terri Shiavo to a prisoner on death row, saying that she had fewer rights than a condemned serial killer. These statuses are not, of course, parallel, and I think but there are similarities between what happened with Schiavo and what happens when lawyers appeal death sentences on the basis of incompetent representation or suppressed evidence.

Unless I'm mistaken, courts routinely rule that if the proper forms were followed, it doesn't matter how incompetent or sleepy the defendent's lawyer was or what evidence was in those boxes the deputies hid in the back of their office (within limits). My understanding from limited perusal of the legal materials is
that the Schindlers got all the process that was due them, and with that requirement having been satisfied, there's no reason to reopen the case.

But would it have been so terrible to have tested Terri Schiavo with the latest equipment? Due process often trumps substantive justice. This only bothers GWB when he can score political points by getting bothered, but doesn't it concern us more generally?

It should.

Prediction

Something like this will happen on Friday:

Bush opens the Cardinal Mahoney Center for "Bad Touches"

"Cardinal Law had difficulty with his memory when he was under oath. He could only remember only three commandments. When asked Cardinal Law said 'I do not recall' 43 times. I'm telling you, if you don't make this guy Pope, he's presidential material."*

*Joke modified from Letterman.

"Culture of Life"

Sunday,

[Bush] made special note of the pope's admonition "of our obligation to build a culture of life in which the strong protect the weak.

Today:

Four U.S. troops were killed in clashes and bombings across Iraq, the U.S. military said Tuesday, and videos posted on the Internet showed militants purportedly beheading an Iraqi soldier and killing a reported informer. A joint U.S.-Iraqi attack on dozens of insurgents in eastern Diyala province on Monday left two American soldiers and one Iraqi soldier dead, U.S. military spokesman said. Two U.S. soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which continued into Tuesday.

Action and Inaction

"Whoa, whoa, there. Not too close Crusty."

The Pope's last memory of Bush, the latter's not admitting to farting.

"Serio, po prostu przyjmują to."*

In what must be some sort of sign...buried in bowling shoes.

Tony Blair showing his best side to the British Electorate. You should see the Tories best side!

"Who has two thumbs and hates America? This guy...oh wait I screwed that up."

Khatami and Bush more alike than either would want to admit.

*"Seriously, just admit it."

Deep Thinker

Last year Dear Leader met with the Pope and presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to him. The subject of the meeting was...

The pontiff was quick to tell Bush about his deep disagreement with the war in Iraq, the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops and Bush's support for the death penalty. During their final meeting last June, Bush presented the pope with the Medal of Freedom and the pope responded by reading a statement that said he had "grave concern" about events in Iraq.

What did Bush remember?

"I can remember him taking us out on the balcony of this fabulous palace overlooking a magnificent lake and talking about his views of the world," Bush said. "It was a moment I'll never forget during my presidency."

Leader of the so-called Free World, or pathetic Christopher Lowell fan?

Boboob

David Brooks, writes (to use the term loosely) about what "liberals" need to do and what "conservatives" have done and manages to reveal he knows jack-shite about either. What a slimy zygote of a neuron Brooks is...though that may be giving him credit for more intelligence than he has.

Hey, Davey the reason that Conservatives have managed to be successful is their unification in bitching and moaning about the left via simplistic labeling and their agreement to focus on obtaining and maintaining power above and beyond all else. There is no philosophy other than team "colors".

Read some Nietzsche you toad.

Far be it from me not to write about what people are writing about

Gee, you get away from the "Internets" for a dozen hours and you miss the opportunity to be one of the first three or four bloggers to rip John Cornyn a new one...and being that he is already an asshole, does that mean you are cloning, splicing or budding?

Digby, Boy Wonder, Atrios, First Draft, they've all commented already and quite well. Unfortunately, there is nothing actually funny at all about this statement:

"It causes a lot of people, including me, great distress to see judges use the authority that they have been given to make raw political or ideological decisions," he said. Sometimes, he said, "the Supreme Court has taken on this role as a policymaker rather than an enforcer of political decisions made by elected representatives of the people."

Cornyn continued: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. . . . And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence. Certainly without any justification, but a concern that I have."

Nice veiled threat there Senator.

What the fuck is it about Texas Republicans? Tom DeLay, John Cornyn, Karl Rove, I mean jeebus how scary is it that 'Dear Leader' and Kay "My VO-5 Use Alone widened the O-Zone layer 15 miles" Hutchinson are the "sane" ones?

And this, of course, isn't the first moronic statement Cornyn has made. His last notable lashing of the judiciary harped about it creating the dangers of "man-boxturtle" sexual relations.

I believe if we combine these two items we know what John Cornyn really believes is going to happen:

But the really dangerous, and let's just lay it out here, the UN-American aspect of it is that it is pure demogougery of a type loved by the modern Republican Party leaders...reflected each day by the FoxNews Zoo Crew. Many of these judges, are conservative Republicans themselves, but ones who have taken an oath to uphold the law, not to twist it to whatever the GOP House and Senate Leadership wants for political opportunism. One gets the feeling (actually one pretty much knows) they would gladly throw progressives in prison for that reason alone.

Welcome to America in the 21st Century.

Blog TV?

That is what the new network, with Al Gore as it's public head, sounds like:

A cable channel recently acquired by an investment group led by Al Gore is to relaunch Aug. 1 under the name Current, hoping to generate much of its content from viewers.

The former vice president and his partners, including entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, are taking an unconventional approach to TV programming in hopes of attracting viewers aged 18 to 34. That demographic, heavily sought by advertisers, has become difficult for TV networks and newspapers to reach.

Messrs. Gore and Hyatt say they hope young people will use the channel as a forum to express their opinions on news and current events. Viewers will be invited to submit short films, documentaries and home videos to be aired on the channel. Mr. Gore's group also has struck a deal with Google Inc. to use information from Google in its programming.

Now called Newsworld International, the channel was acquired from Vivendi Universal SA last year for about $70 million. Mr. Gore is chairman of the investment group, while Mr. Hyatt is chief executive. The two will unveil their plans for the channel today at a cable-industry convention in San Francisco.

In an interview Friday, Mr. Gore said the goal of Current is to connect "the Internet generation with television in a brand new way." Its Web site will be a key part of its service, listing topics on which it wants material, such as reviews of movies, CDs or videogames; items on social trends; and advocacy journalism. Current will pay $250 for videos it airs.

So how much bling for occasionally witty picture captions?

Can one blogwhore on the tee vee?

Is swearing allowed?

And I'm begging them, since this sounds like a network likely to do "Today in Blogs" please do not do it like CNN...and remember the little bloggers.

Our continuing Shame

Preznit "Culture of Life" continues to show just what a hypocrite he and his Administration are. I'm sure the late Pope would have liked to have had this explained:

CIA interrogations may have played a role in the deaths of several detainees in Iraq, as Bush administration lawyers were advocating an aggressive interrogation policy that critics say led to torture, military documents and officials say.

U.S. officials have formally disclosed the death of only one person interrogated by the CIA in Iraq -- Manadel al-Jamadi, an unregistered "ghost" prisoner at Abu Ghraib who died Nov. 4, 2003, while handcuffed in a prison shower room.

But sworn statements provided to Army investigators by military intelligence and police at Abu Ghraib contain at least four references to CIA detainees dying during interrogations that do not correspond with the al-Jamadi case.

The documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, were collected for an Army investigation that first disclosed the presence of unregistered CIA detainees at Abu Ghraib last September.

And the Naughty Bits Will be Sent to Peggy Noonan

Looks like some folks want to get 'Medieval' on the Papal Corpse:

"We would like the heart of the greatest Krakovian and the greatest Pole to rest at Wawel (Cathedral)," Mayor Jacek Majchrowski was quoted as saying Monday by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. "But the rules are set by the church and we will respect them."

Boy, if we in this country were not torturing people to death we would be in a position to criticize the poles for being primitive.

Monday, April 04, 2005

Attaturk and Bandwidth

Where have I been? I've been trying to chime in but found blogger uncooperative--clinically and criminally uncooperative. Then I got a note from Blogger that Attaturk was using all the bandwidth. But he has been doing a great job, has a demanding audience, and, of course, a typical male ego so I just left well enough alone.

I'm gone for a few days and Terri Schiavo croaks, then the Pope. I've confessed here before that I am an itinerant Catholic, not quite lapsed, and have just a couple thoughts to share.

First, the fact that anyone thought what happened with Terri Schiavo was murder is simply out of their mind or didn't take the time to understand what was happening. Did anyone consider whether her life had any meaning? Does the fact that she had no ability to perceive happiness let alone pursue it mean anything?

Second, the people that expolited the family for political gain are evil. That inlcudes religious and political figures.

Third, the Pope did some great things during his papacy mostly regarding mending fences with other religions but continued a theology of misogyny and ancient attitudes regarding celibacy, birth control, and divorce. Did I expect him to change? I gave up on that a long time ago and fear the most we can hope for in the next Pope is someone who will lay the groundwork for those kinds of changes.

As someone raised in the religion (some would say indoctrinated) I have at least a passing interest in who succeeds JP II. So here is my wish: a man (grudgingly I have to ackowledge to even dream that a woman could be Pope even in the lifetimes of my great-great-great grandchildren is folly) who foregoes all the usual trappings of the office, wears a simple brown cassock, and lives the ethic exemplified by Mother Theresa. Now that would be setting an example.

For those of you wondering whether there are any limits on Gambling...

No there are not. Even when betting on God's ordained..."Upon this House of Ill Repute I will build my Church y'all!" The current betting odds on who will be the next Pope. I've enlisted ESPN Draft Expert Mel Kiper to assist us with some candidates.

The favorites:

Cardinal Francis Arinze, 11 to 4.

Mel Kiper's Scouting Report:

A conservative and dogmatic theologian, Arinze had an outstanding time on the 40 and was able to describe 17 ways in which Martin Luther was damned in that limited amount of time. Is considered to look great in White, and is known as a committed team player. His upside is considered substantial in the third world, with some concerns that established nations may not appreciate his dogmatism and unique skills.

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, 11 to 4.

Mel Kiper's Scouting Report:

Very successful in the major program of Milan, Cardinal Tettamanzi is known for his solid team leadership and availability to call audibles on matters of faith. Furthermore, his alma mater has a long pedigree of producing successful pontiffs, though on occasion they have been known to produce Popes more likely to be more "me" than team oriented. One item that is on his side is that while his upside potential may be limited, you know what you are getting and that is a strong person to hold the line against Protestant or Islamic blitzes.

And a real darkhorse candidate:

Cardinal Rodrigo Fang, 1,000 to 1

Mel Kiper's Scouting Report:

A key member of the theological program for the purity of the faith throughout Aragon, Cardinal Fang is known for his dogmatic purity and ability to convert heretics using two, no make that three methods. While some consider him a longshot, a lifetime of dedicated service, and calm, collected, piety makes him a Cardinal to keep one's eye upon.

Boost My Ratings!

As predicted by James Wolcott... our Lord and Chimperor will attend the funeral of the man who thought him a war mongerer [not that it will be mentioned by the Press, that would be rude to the memory of the Pope who must have loved God's youngest son]

Although, I guess if as typical protocol Cheney had been sent they feared he might have eschewed mourning dress and worn a bitchin' burgundy valour jumpsuit with "VEEP" stiched on the left breast pocket to the funeral.

It's Creepy

Attaturk's quirks:

Bodies lying in state are creepy.

Be it Mao, Lenin or especially Jeremy Bentham, it is in my opinion creepy.

Which brings us to these pictures, where the body of El Popo is used for a final game of dress up, right down to the ill-fitting miter...oh look, Jesus is using his belly for a trampoline.

Attaturk's quirks:

Bodies lying in state are creepy.

Be it Mao, Lenin or especially Jeremy Bentham, it is in my opinion creepy.

Which brings us to these pictures, where the body of El Popo is used for a final game of dress up, right down to the ill-fitting miter...oh look, Jesus is using his belly for a trampoline.

"Weeeeeee!"

Ick

Randall Terry presents the creepiest musical number since David Irving appeared as Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, via Crooks & Liars!

Digby supplies the lyrics:

When I feel the waves crash over me
Father
And my heart is overwhelmed with pain
Help me, find me, seek me, hide me
In the scars you bear
Caress me in your embrace
Run your fingers through my hair
I believe in you

For years I have been under the belief that the creepiest thing we see on video year after year is Jerry Lewis's 'Child in Wheelchair Parade', ending after more than 20 hours with him singing (horrifically) "You'll Never Walk Alone!" ... OY!

But for 2005 we have set a bar that even that cannot pass.

Coming Soon, Randall Terry changes "Tommy!" to "Cousin Kevin" and dedicates it to Tom DeLay (perhaps he can drown in Chocolate & Baked Beans?)

Sign O' the Times

Say did you know the Pope died?

Meanwhile, while we have heard plenty from broadcast news about the late Pontiff's social conservatism on things like abortion and stem cell research, we have heard little of his economic liberalism, his opposition to capital punishment, and certainly not much at all about his strong and consistent opposition to the Bush Administration's Iraq War.

Ironic perhaps, but of little surprise, is the fact that you have to look long and hard to discover that Abu Ghraib Prision was actually attacked by dozens of insurgents this last weekend and that many died and 44 Americans were wounded in a War strongly opposed by the Pope and now barely mentioned by our beloved corporate press.

UPDATE:

Two more barely reported American service persons killed as well.

Hacktacular Whitewash

Telling section from Newsweek about just how HARD the Bush-Appointed Commission looked into intelligence failures before the Iraqi War:

When a Senate panel released a report last year on the disastrously bad intelligence on Iraq, it included an intriguing e-mail that showed how intensely the administration was looking for damning evidence against Saddam. The e-mail, written by a senior CIA official, addressed a debate that the agency's analysts were having about Curveball, an erratic Iraqi emigre who claimed to have seen Saddam's supposed mobile biological-weapons labs. The CIA had evidence that Curveball was a shameless fabricator months before Secretary of State Colin Powell cited the Iraqi's reports before the United Nations. But in the Feb. 4, 2003, e-mail—written a day before Powell's U.N. appearance—the senior CIA official sharply rebuked one of those skeptical analysts. "Keep in mind the fact that this war's going to happen regardless of what Curve Ball said or didn't say and that the Powers That Be probably aren't terribly interested in whether Curve Ball knows what he's talking about," the CIA official wrote.

...

Yet the new panel conspicuously omitted the "Powers That Be" e-mail that appeared in the Senate report. In fact, commission leaders seemed to not even know of its existence. "What e-mail are you talking about?" Judge Lawrence Silberman, the chairman, testily responded when asked by a NEWSWEEK reporter why it wasn't included in the report. "I'm mystified." Two hours later, after NEWSWEEK supplied the panel with a copy of the e-mail from the Senate report, a commission spokesman explained that the panel was aware of it but chose not to include it because its contents were already known.

She's Still Alive?

I, Attaturk, have to admit I'm not exactly up to date on pop singers. It's a hole in my pop culture knowledge (just like the literature question in Trivial Pursuit). Nonetheless, I was surprised to see Atrios discuss Fiona Apple's forthcoming album.

I take it the woman took most everyone's advice and had a sandwich then?

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Top 20 Most Awesome Popes

Poor Digby has had even more trouble with Blogger than we have...which seems hard to believe. But his post makes me mindful of a couple of things.

First, because I agree with him and most of you simply cannot get enough of this shot, or so our corporate media masters believe, here it is again.

I suggest you pretend you are not so much reading this blog, as staring at the image of a live shot upon a 5-inch video screen. Hum some Latin Dirge while your at it and you've pretty much got the real thing.

Meanwhile, let me rank the 20 most AWESOME popes ever for discussion:

1. Peter
2. John
3. John
4. Gregory
5. Pius
6. John
7. John
8. John
9. hmmmm, John
10. John
11. Pius
12. Sixtus
13. Urban
14. John
15. John
16. Leo
17. Innocent
18. John
19. Agapetus
20. John

These are not to be confused with the 10 most unforgetable Kings of France, Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis, Francis, and Louis.

For those of you who wish for papal obsessions* outside of cable news, look no further than the Intersection of Necrophelia Street & OCD Avenue where she-beast Lopez has posted even more on Karol than she did on Schiavo, as impossible as that seems. TBogg did the count and found totals that are herculean and disturbing. Hey, K-Lo, Xanax, it's not just for breakfast anymore!

*("Papal Obsessions"? Say, didn't I see that on Cinemax late last weekend?)

Careless or Thoughtless? Yeah, Stupid

This speaks for itself...

April Fool's edition draws protest
April 2, 2005
BOSTON

An April Fool's Day edition of the student newspaper at the University of Massachusetts at Boston drew complaints from a Jewish community group yesterday for its depiction of UMass President Jack Wilson as Adolf Hitler. The altered photograph, which superimposed Wilson's face on an image of Hitler, ''displays a profound insensitivity," leaders of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston said in a statement. A spokesman for Wilson called the prank ''appalling and tasteless." Nancy Derby, a UMass student and the editor of the Mass Media, issued an apology and said the image was meant as satire. Two members of the paper's staff resigned yesterday, she said.

Names for Baby

Has everyone seen this?

Seems like the extremists are getting more direct...

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Arguing about the Impact

I had an argument today with someone who shall we say is on the far right and works where I work.

Here is roughly what I said about Ms. Schiavo. In response this person called me, and I quote, "A Godless atheist communist." Ah, the religious right... never the name callers...

This case was clearly an attempt to manipulate public moral sentiments. However, it seems to have failed to do this and perhaps discredited both Republicans and Democrats for their rather crude manipulation of both the law and human suffering.

It served to legitimate the state and federal judiciaries in the minds of many clear thinking people. Hopefully now the law can now be seen as the voice of reason rather than the call of religious zealots. The major result is that the political system is still thought of as legitimate even if the politicians are seen to be the fools they are and the fools that they constantly confirm through their pandering to people who use religion and so-called moral values as litmus tests.

I don't think this case does much to alter the relationship between church and state other than to give religious leaders more air time than they would otherwise get on the national media. Clearly the Cristian fundamentalists lost and the secular rule of law won this time, at least for the most part. I think that the federal judges knew that if they had caved in to the politicians the judiciary would itself have suffered a loss of validity in the mind of the
public. It is important to keep up the pretence that we live by the rule of law, even if we do not.

I found this to be pretty good considering it was off the top of me head.

For those who may be addressing matters brought up by recent events such as the right to die and the role of religion in U.S. political affairs – one accessible source is Public Agenda.

Public Agenda was founded in 1975 by Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of state under Carter Cyrus Vance provides empirical evidence on some social conditions, research on public opinion on topical subjects as well as some limited frameworks for public policy discussion. The self-proclaimed purpose of Public Agenda is to:

1. Aid “American leaders better understand the public’s point of view” and

2. Provide citizens information “about critical policy issues so they can make thoughtful, informed decisions.

The site addresses methodological questions with respect to opinion polling.

The link to the right to die resources is here.

On the religion and politics item, there is a report, “Religion and Public Life, 2000-2004: Survey Shows Religious Americans Less Likely to Support Compromise” which is a follow up a Public Agenda study, For Goodness sake: Why So Many Want Religion to Play a Greater Role in American Life.

It is a follow-up on a report prepared for the Pew Charitable Trusts, “For Goodness Sake: Why So Many Want Religion to Play a Greater Role in American Life” (first published in January 2001) and accessible here.

What I hope to do Tonight

If it stays clear, I plan on getting out the Celestron and getting some Deep Sky Objects and the jewel of the night sky for friends that do not get to look through a telescope very often, if ever:

Folks never get tired of seeing it.

It's a hobby that I've been kept from for a while, for various reasons, but it should be clear tonight.

Meanwhile, Elaine at Culture of Life does a requiem on the pending death of NASA.

If I can pretend to be serious for a moment...

Actually, I'll let someone else be serious for me. Billmon pretty much sums up my feelings on the legacy of John Paul II and the Catholic Church as a historical institution (someday my major work on the papacy of John, John, John, John, John, John, Pius, Pius, John, John, John, Gregory, John, John, Ron Jeremy, John and, of course, Simplicius will be completed). Billmon's post has the extra advantage of allowing me to do no work whatsover.

"Must Blame the Clenis...."

Sure the mantra's wearing a little thin, but the GOP still thinks it is good for a roll-out here and there...

The United States' pre-war intelligence on Iraq was dead wrong, according to the president's Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction. Despite the report, Missouri's senior U.S. senator says the decision to go to war was still the right one.

Bond is a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence. In an interview here on Thursday, Bond said the bad intelligence came from an archaic system based on assumptions rather than thorough analysis and human intelligence. He also placed much of the blame on the Clinton administration.

The man's clearly a deep thinker...

Ask Dr. Attaturk, April 2, 2005

Well the Doctor has been summoned back to ask questions, like Dr. Bombay when Tabitha Stevens had the sniffles and was conjuring up purple unicorns with every sneeze. You have questions, and in between attending "Spam-a-Lot" the Dr. has answers:

Question No. 1:

Dear Dr. Turk,
Some people have been suggesting (me) that Dale Gribble on the TV show "King of the Hill" is actually Tom Delay. They are both paranoid, misfits who exterminate bugs. Has anyone ever seen them together?

- The Fish Lady

Please now, this is not at all fair. One is a two-dimensional character throwing out tired and predictable phrases of gloom and doom; a virtual cartoon character; exterminating bugs with wacky ideas, and hates anyone that doesn't have the same appearance that he does. The other lives next to Hank Hill.

I'm sure no one saw that answer coming!

Question No. 2:

Dear Earth-bound, Reality-based friend,

Hell's great. You never have to wash your overalls, and the grease stays in your hair so's you never have to comb ever again, and Lulu's always got some hot, fresh pies coolin' on the porch windowsill, although they never get completely cool if you know what I mean. And I don't miss Roy Clark neither, but that's another story.

To my question: have you seen my brother, Tom? Last sighted in Texas. Looks a lot like me, but thinner, and a little more wound up than me (looks kinda harsh around the eyes), but then last I heard he was in politics, so there you are. I miss him and wonder when he might be getting down here?

In hot black leather shoes and no socks,

Junior Samples

Junior,

I don't know if you've been reading the headlines, but if you've been paying attention to your buddy Tom's agenda, I'm pretty sure you and your fellow minions will be coming to Tom and the rest of us rather than him going there.

Question No. 3:

Am I dead yet?

Thanks in Advance,

JPII

No you are just resting. Hang on, that Cardinal over there will soon be nailing you to your perch.

Question No. 4:

Hey, appealing is fun. Can I do it some more?

Mr. Schindler

You're misspelling "appalling".

Bobo...Clueless

Another article decrying objectivity from Bobo...naturally ignoring actual reality and the political pressures of those real "subjectivists" in the White House.

But my favorite part is this:

A new paper by a Yale undergraduate, Sulmaan Wasif Khan, contrasts these two ways of looking at the world. Khan compares the C.I.A.'s 1960's-era National Intelligence Estimates on China, which have been recently declassified, with the work of generalist scholars like Donald Zagoria.

"Undergraduate"?

Jeebus, is he grading mid-terms now?

Attaturk as an Undergraduate once wrote a paper about obscure Antebellum Presidents, but that didn't get quoted in fuckall!