They're laughing all the way to the bank
The talking heads on the news just said that gas prices in the midwest could reach $3.00 a gallon by summer. Of course, if I complain about this I risk getting some hate mail from any possible UK readers, but this is insane. The only positive benfit can think of is that gas prices will be so high that it could take away votes from Bush.
What would MLK think?
Calpundit ponts out that for the second year in a row, Bush dishonors MLK's memory just in time for his holiday. Last year he opposed affirmative action at the University of Michigan, and this year he has awarded Charles Pickering a seat on the 5th Circuit Court via recess appointment while Congressis out of session. Pickering being a judge whose civilrights record sucks and was fairly and democratically filibustered in the Senate last year. But adherin to democracy has never been one of Bush's strong points, has it?
Saturday is Election Day!
From The Truth Laid Bear's New Webblog Showcase:
c h a n d r a s u t r a: You're Soaking in it
God's in da hiz-owse [updated]
The almighty him (her?) self has graced my comments with his (her?) presence. In fact, he (she?) has singled me out or death next week unless I repent now and turn Republican. Unfortunately, God has not fulfilled my request and killed George Lucas. Pity.
Update: I just found out who "God" is, so, if you had a flame prepared, it be best not to send it. It probably wouldn't be replied too.
The Return of.. Igloo Blogging!
No, I didn't move back to the house with no heat in Providence, but it's -9 outsid right now, and that's without wind chill. This is what my nipples will look like today:
Yo mamma's so fatwa!
Remember the protests in Basra? They mean business:
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Basra yesterday to demand a general election, as an aide to Iraq's most senior Shia cleric warned that he may issue a fatwa against the proposed new government.
Well, that's just dandy.
I'm not sure if this counts as lying or incompetence
Maybe a little bit of both, I'm not sure. My bias leans towards the former, but since these people are so stupid it could be the latter. Either way and either reason, this is a good example of how the Republican media just can't get their facts straight.
For some personal amusement tonight, I took a look at World Net Daily's headlines. The very first headline, printed in a large font above the masthead, said: "WND most popular 'political site'." Under this, as if to show how important tooting their own horn is, you had to click "WND Exclusive" to read it.
The subline of the article reads, "Alexa ranks it No. 1 spot for election coverage." I'm not sure of WND is attempting to set a record for the speed in which it took them to lie, (they probably already own such a record), but they have achieved the dubious task of fibbing before their article even gets to the first paragraph. To their credit, they get it right in the first paragraph:
WorldNetDaily.com is ranked as the No. 1 most popular political site on the Internet, according to Alexa.com
WND founder Joseph Farah chimes in, get a load of his thoughts:
"But it's [the ranking] even more thrilling because we've never considered WND primarily a political site. It is first and foremost a newssite ? the largest independent, full-service newssite in the world."
Read that again and try not to laugh. How can anyone, much less the founder, not consider WND to be a political site? How? Given their highly political and not exactly "independent" content, this just defies logic. The founder of WND basically just came out and admitted to being delusional. It's great to know that delusional men are running popular media sites. And just how does one define "independent?" Just like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and other non-independent media outlets, WND depends upon advertising to stay in business. When doing proper comparisans against their proper competition, it becomes glaringly obvious that WND just isn't independent. Worse yet, at least other services, including Fox News, make an attempt to tell multiple sides of a story, but WND has thirves off their biases and proudly let them show.
The basis for Farah's quote comes from this link, where Alexa has them ranked as the number one political site. Alexa has has rankings for news sites, and WND isn't even close to cracking the top 5.
But hey, when you're already lying, why stop? Here's the final paragraph of the article:
WND also is ranked No. 1 in Alexa's News and Media category, followed by NewsMax, National Review Online, FrontPage Magazine and the Weekly Standard.
This paragraph should cause even the most hardened WND reader to raise an eyebrow, because it just said that WND is the number one News and Media site, followed by 4 other sites which lean to the right. "News and Media," that's a rather broad topic, can it really be completely dominated by right wing hitmen?
When you click on the link WND provides, you find the part of the story they left out: they rank number one in "News and Media" under Conservatism.
The real story isn't how popular WND is, it's how can WND be so popular when they fuck up simple stories like this? Maybe it would be more accurate of WND had a new headline for this story, "We're the most popular bunch of liars on the web!"
On another topic, I originally visited WND for my personal amusement, and I must say that their polls have been lacking lately. The questions aren't as amusing, and the multiple yes/no with description answers haven't been as ridiculous. I guess quality is dropping all across the board over at WND.
While I'm on the topic of honesty in journalism, I have to admit that I have a link to WND on this site because, even though I'm very biased, I attempt to give my links some balance. But given the fact that WND can't even get a simple story like this straight, I'm removing them from my "News" links. They don't even attempt to publish anything accurate, they just churn out what garbage comes to their mind. Sorry, but that's not news.
Another IMF day in Rhode Island
What's an "IMF" day, you ask? Instant Mucus Freeze. This is what happens when it's so cold that your nose doesn't run when you're outside. The mucus instantly freezes instead.
Well, this is certainly ironic
Tens of thousands of freedom loving Iraqis that liberated march through Basra calling for democracy and free elections.
This isn't to say that I support those masses. The marchers are Shi'ites and showing their support for their most revered cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. If there were elections held today in Iraq, that means the Shi'ite would gain pretty much all the power, which would piss off the Kurds and Sunnis, and then there would be a civil war, the Kurds already have their own army so they would surely break away and declare the statehood of Kurdistan, which would start a war with Turkey, etc. You know, all that fun stuff that the Bush administration should have given thought to before soldiers were marched across the Kuwaiti border.
Lars' Storm Troopers
This is getting ridiculous: RIAA adopts paramilitary garb for parking lot bust
With one eye on their role in a future crimebusting cop show [*], RIAA employees donned paramilitary kit as they swooped on a Hispanic parking lot attendant in Los Angeles before Christmas. Faced with ex-cops wearing raid vests with "RIAA" emblazoned on the back, 55 year old Ceasar Borrayo handed over 78 CDs and DVDs of dubious legality, LA Weekly reports.
Bush lies, soldiers kill themselves
Suicide has become such a pressing issue that the Army sent an assessment team to Iraq late last year to see if anything more could be done to prevent troops from killing themselves. The Army also began offering more counseling to returning troops after several soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., killed their wives and themselves after returning home from the war.
Scary Fark Headline of the Day
"Star Wars Episodes 7-8-9 To Possibly Become Reality"
Dear God,
George Lucas is a bad, evil man. Please kill him.
Love,
tas
P.S. - While I have your attention, can you please tell Dubya that he doesn't speak for you? He keeps on having these delusions that make him murder people in your name. It's annoying and pissing off the rest of the planet.
P.P.S. - What's your opinion of the phrase "God Bless America"? Do you really bless us?
A little unpaid advertising
I just had Gardenburger's soy BBQ Chick'n for dinner. I've love their BBQ riblets, and the chicken was just as good. It even looks like a real chicken patty, and I betcha my coworkers who think my dietary preference for soy products is a bit odd wouldn't be able to tell the difference between these soy chick'n patties and the real thing.
Even though this advertising is unpaid, I don't pimp for free. I hoping that if more people buy soy products, they will lower in price. Or I can at least get economy bulk packs of Gardenburger stuff. So start buying it so I can afford to eat it everyday, or I'll eat some spinach and wallop yo' ass.
She'll make a remarkable cabinet member
I like Carol Moseley Braun. It would be a shame that her campaign for president was never too strong, but there are so many candidates.. Kucinich and Dean siphon her support from the hardcore left, and Sharpton's candidacy takes away from a potential minority base. So I'm happy that she's dropping out and endorsing Dean.
The True Vision
Before I left for work, I watched the local news with my parents. Right before a commerical break when the anchor detailed stories coming up, he said, "...Bush's vision for a manned mission to Mars." The anchor said this in a positive, majestic manner. I groaned and mentioned something about shooting myself after I heard it. "Bush's vision?!" Then my dad said something that I would have rather heard on the news, "Bush's vision is driving the country bankrupt." Heh.
Bush must love dirty air
(Via CalPundit), this is getting pathetic: the Bush administration, teaming up with big industry, is urging the Supreme Court to overturn a law in Southern California which requires industries to purchase cleaner burning engines when they have to replace busses, garbage trucks, etc. This isn't a federal law, this isn't even a state law, but it's just too much for Bush. Maybe he's dyslexic and OCD.
It's about time
That druggie Rush is finally getting some real competition: Al Franken's getting his own radio show for the 3:00 timeslot.
It's about time for a non-conservative radio talk show. If you listen to the AM dial as compulsively as I do, Franken's show will be a welcome addition to the usual uber-Republican drivel from the likes of Limbaugh, Savage, and Sean Fuckin' Hannity.
He's a uniter, not a divider!
Bush is creating more instability.
Missile shield plan destabilising, warns Indonesia
An Australian decision to join the US in developing a long-range missile defence shield would destabilise regional security, Indonesia's chief foreign ministry spokesman warned today.
Predicting Terrorism with Class
Topless passenger declared flight 'next 9-11'
Passengers on a Virgin Blue flight last week from Hobart to Melbourne endured a 50-minute tirade by a woman who stripped topless and ranted the flight was the next September 11, according to a witness.
Please, just quit
Even after state Republican leaders have called from him to resign and the majority of state residents want him impeached if he does not resign, Connecticut's corrupted Republican governor refuses to do the honorable thing.
"I've made mistakes. I've apologized for those mistakes. I have taken responsibility for those mistakes and now it is time to govern and I'm going to get back to work and do all we can to improve this state," Rowland, who faces possible impeachment, said after speaking at a conference on drug abuse among youth.
"Taken responsibility" for what? Does Rowland honestly think that admitting he's guilty of crimes amounts to responsibility? Crimes = punishment under law, none of which he has received. Duh. It's great that we have governor's who don't know the basics of the law.
Mat/Matt
Just to clear up any confusion, two separate Matt's posted yesterday, but the newest Loaded Mouth spells his name "Mat" and it's usually preceeded by "Fucking", which should be fixed soon.
Sign of the Times
I called the number for the help desk I worked at in Ohio. My address has changed since I moved, and I need to give that to them so they send my 10W40 tax forms to the right place.
I couldn't talk to my old manager, though, because the only person I could get through to was in India.
Ahhh, the march of free trade
US gives New Zealand's sovereignty the finger.
New Zealand’s nuclear free policy is the first rung on a long ladder leaning toward securing a free trade deal with the United States. Most certainly New Zealand will also be required to embrace the international law breaking U.S. policy of ‘Pre-emptive Defence’.
Compliance with U.S. foreign policy will be assumed.
Should New Zealand pursue this course, the only consequence possible will be a country of insignificance and disgrace. With international justice ideals cast aside, abandonment of the Clark-Government’s hard earned social justice brand, New Zealand’s independent voice on international affairs would be exhausted handing the United States a siphon to sap the country’s moral self-respecting identity.
Let's see who we can offend now
This offensive comes from Iran.
Iran announced prematurely this week that it had renewed full diplomatic relations with Egypt. It added, as a sweetener, that a street in Tehran had been renamed Intifada street from Khaled Islambuli street, after the Egyptian who assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981. Egypt denied that ties had yet been resumed, but agreed that contacts between the two countries were continuing.
Can't they have normal street names, like Elm or Park?
And the Darwin Award of the day goes to..
A man has survived being attacked by a lion after jumping into a pen at the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina.
The 22-year-old said "voices from God" ordered him to jump the zoo fence on Sunday and begin taunting two lions.
I think the problem here is that God hasn't talked to this guy enough. And if it couldn't get better...
Mr Tomas scaled a wall at the zoo and jumped into the lions pit before holding out his jacket as if it were a bullfighter's cape and challenging one of the lions.
Honestly, is there any possible way to feel sorry for this guy?
Haloscan is back, the other comments weren't functioning. Oh well, the search for a better commenting system continues...
Doing my duty for The Alliance
Casting my vote in The Truth Laid Bear's New Webblog Showcase:
Metastasis: "Proust in his first book wrote about, wrote about. . . ."
What does the media let Bush get away with?
I was feeling lazy last night, so I plopped myself down in front of the news for a couple of hours. Most of that time was spent watching Dateline, and boy did I learn a lot. The story they based their entire hour long "news" magazine around was how beautiful people are more likely to be accepted in social situations, as opposed to normal joe's and jane's. Well, duh. When the premise of the story is basically a rhetorical question, why pursue the story? Not only did they pursue the story, but they couldn't even report it right. To anwser their rhetorical question, they sent four people into the streets of NYC: two reasonable attractive normal folks, and two models. Then they based the whole show around the fact that the models were treated better than the normal folks, like this is a surprise. They didn't just send out beautiful people, they sent out models that you see in magazines, that you hardly ever get to see in real life. These people looked like celebrities. Then the reported acted surprised when people, shockola, flocked to the models!
Hard hitting media like this explains why the whole world think that us Americans area bunch of braindead fucking morons. It's not like this past week was a slow news week: there's the war in Iraq, a presidential campaign, Paul O'Neill's book revealing just how things work (or don't work) in the Bush administration, O'Neill's book also revealing that Bush wanted to attack Iraq immediately after he got into office; jobs aren't being created, people are in more debt now then they have been in at least the past 20 years (if not ever), etc. That's all I can come up with after thinking about the past week for a minute, and those should be huge stories. Looking at the assortment of stories that reporters could have touched over the past week, Dateline should feel ashamed for the story that they choose to air.
If that's not bad enough, they had a preview of their next show: the Trial of Michael Jackson! Ooooh! You know what? Fuck Michael Jackson. Fuck'em straight in the goat ass. Did he molest a child or not? I don't know and I certainly don't give a fuck and a half about the matter, or about Whacko Jacko in general. What happens in this man's life has absolutely no bearing on my life, so why should I care? Everytime I turn on the TV now, it's all Jacko all the time. Jackojackojacko. It's a big jackoff of Michael Fucking Jackson. What about all the news stories happening within our borders that need to be reported on, not to mention all the international stories that we are missing? Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the journalism industry, these stories used to be called "scoops." Now it's just ignored. Real news? Fuck that! Give America an ejackoulation of infotainment.
How is our democracy supposed to function if voters are not properly informed of the issues and the real stories that should be in the media? Don't tell me that political stories sell less then infotainment, because to that argument I have a one word reply: Clinton. Scandals in the White House are huge, and the papers will sell accordingly. But no, we don't see any stories about the Bush scandals, all we ever hear about is the fact that Clinton committed the high crime of getting sucked off in the Oval Office.
Some of you might be asking the same question I'm asking myself right now: "Clinton's scandals involve sex, which sells. Maybe the Bush scandals aren't reported because they don't involve sex?" That's not entirely true, though. When the right accused Clinton of murder and rape, that sold papers. But the woman who accused Bush of rape, Margie Schoedinger, is now dead. Supposedly it was suicide, but the media has compeletely ignored this story. And when I say completely ignored, I mean completely ignored. I conducted numerous searches through Lexis/Nexis database and all I could find for her was a death notice in a Houston paper. I was shocked and had trouble believing my results, so I had a friend do his own independent searching on her to see what he came up with, and his results were the same as mine: zilch. Not one major or minor US daily, news magazine, or wire service in America has touched this story. That's amazing, because whenever here were unfounded accousations against Clinton, the media was all over it like a stain on a dress. I don't know if Ms. Schoedinger's accusations are true, but the fact remains that they were not reported, and her death, a gunshot wound to the head that was ruled a suicide, was also not reported. What I do know is that this woman filed a lawsuit against Bush and soon after she died. Back when Clinton was president, this would have been a story. But with Bush as president, the only things the media seems to be focused on is how we want to talk to beautiful people and Whacko Jackoff.
Think about it
Remember, the economy's doing great!
Consumer debt hit a record $1.98 trillion in October 2003, according to the most recent figures from the Federal Reserve. That debt -- which includes credit cards and car loans, but not mortgages -- translates to some $18,700 per U.S. household.
Wow. An average of $18,700 per household, and that's before factoring in mortgage debt. The article neglected to mention student loans, but since that's not consumer debt, we can factor that in, too. If I was an editor, my headline for this story would have been, "YOU ARE COMPLETELY FUCKED!"
Dubya's got a knife in his back, yay!
I know it will be old news soon, but I want to comment on the bomb which Paul O'Neill dropped on the Bush administration and their bullshit war in Iraq. Just not right now.
Cursor has some great links for the story.
One Dangerous Question
The BBC asks if the US Army is big enough? Putting aside my pacifist views that scream "YES!," this is an intersting question. Ask yourself this question: with a majority of US troops tied up in Iraq since Bush couldn't piece together a true internatiional coalition, if the US faced a true and significant military threat, would the military have the strength to fight it?
An interesting question indeed, and one that places Bush's stance as being strong on national security in question.
Love and Passion
Interesting article on Salon talking about love, passion, and the differences between French and American women.
My girlfriend Natalie is not classically pretty, but that's never been a problem. She has a little belly, but she flaunts it. She has a little bit of extra butt. She flaunts that too. She's had her share of romantic encounters, but she's still single, over 35, and has lots of baggage, including a 5-year-old from a previous marriage who's earned the nickname of Rasputin. In many respects Natalie is the perfect candidate for Rachel Greenwald's new book "Find a Husband After 35 Using What I Learned at Harvard Business School." She's perfect except for one thing: Natalie is French.
"I feel sorry for American women," she says over the phone. Natalie is in Paris; I'm in Los Angeles. We're talking on the phone about love, lust, girlhood, womanhood. Somehow we touch on Greenwald's new book, which exhorts women to use the same marketing techniques to find a mate as they would to, say, launch a new brand of tennis shoes. "You, the reader, are the 'product,'" Greenwald writes.
Switched commenting systems
Comments now by Enetation because they's purty-er. Actually, it's because of Haloscan's 1000 character limit, which got very annoying very quick. So, post away!
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