Bill O! Shit!

Bill O'Reilly managed to apologize only to then find something else. He said that she used the USDA banner to talk politics. That I will agree with him. Under the Hatch Act, as a political appointee, she cannot make political statements in public as a representative of the government.

I'd like to point out his rebuttal to Rachel Maddow: No, Bill. The station you work for is really that lame and stupid. And just because Fox leads in the ratings doesn't mean they're smarter. It just means Fox cornered the market on conservative TV viewers. Most of these viewers, I'm not saying all, seem to have no idea what journalism is. Or even integrity. I consider anybody that takes time - irregularly, let alone habitually - to cite their ratings, good fortune and success to be a vain, egotistical shit. It's a vice that is unbecoming, provincial and without class.

Seriously, countering someone's argument by stating that his channel leads the ratings as proof that the other is wrong is pure foolishness. Since when did higher ratings equal better programming? Look how many people watch reality TV shows! Are they the bastion of television excellence or a three ring circus? Does Bill's head still fit through the door or have they built his studio around him?

Just facts and all the facts!

After a few days of brutality in the media, Shirley Sherrod has made the truth known.

A little recap. Two days ago, Conservative Commentator Andrew Breitbart released a video clip of Shirley Sherrod, a USDA agent in charge of rural development in Georgia, saying that she would not help a poor white farmer. This is what was said in the clip of a larger speech that was delivered March 27 as it was posted on Fox News:

You know, the first time I was faced with helping a white farmer save his farm. He took a long time talking but he was trying to show me he was superior to me. I know what he was doing. But he had come to me for help. What he didn't know, while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me, was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him.

I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland. And here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land, so I didn't give him the full force of what I could do.

So I took him to a white lawyer that had attended some of the training that we had provided because Chapter 12 bankruptcy had just been enacted for the family farm. So I figured if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him.

It was big news after that! Everyone ran with the story. But there were those who did dig deeper. Unfortunately, many did not. The Department of Agriculture was one and the NAACP was another.

The Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in response to the tape:

There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person... We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.

The NAACP stated

Racism is about the abuse of power. Ms. Sherrod had it in her position at USDA. According to her remarks, she mistreated a white farmer in need of assistance because of his race. We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers. Her actions were shameful. While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man.

All to make sure that we all knew they were against the actions of this Georgia woman. Tuesday, she was called three times by Secretary Vilsack asking for her resignation. While she was on the road form West Point, Georgia, she was told by the White House to resign. It was said that they wanted her to resign before Glenn Beck aired later that day. The White House has denied that they had anything to do with pressuring her to resign.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch - er, farm that is - the Spooner Family were willing to tell everyone that would listen that Shirley Sherrod was a great lady. She had helped them keep their farm decades ago and were still friends with her.

So, when I was watching The O'Reilly Factor last night, after the statements, the resignation and the Spooner Family's take on the past, why did Bill O'Reilly not mention the Spooners? He went with the clip as it was. He did not take a deeper look into it as he claims to do. Guess he only does that when it's white men and/or Republicans. Later, he argued that the lack of Black Panther coverage on the other networks meant they had less journalistic integrity. Apparently, they all have blinders on just not for the same stories.

But regardless of how hypocritical Bill O'Reily is, the clip in its entirety and the full context of her remarks have been released.

...if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him ... but that lawyer failed to help ... I did not discriminate against [the farmer]. And, in fact, I went all out to frantically look for a lawyer at the last minute because the first lawyer we went to was not doing anything to really help him. In fact, that lawyer suggested they should just let the farm go. The second attorney [was able to help the farmer] file Chapter 11 bankruptcy to help the family stay on the farm.

Working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who haven't. They could be black, they could be white, they could be Hispanic. And it made me realize then that I needed to help poor people - those who don't have access the way others have.

The full video is now up for viewing on the NAACP's website.



The NAACP retracted their previous statement and has stated

With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias ... Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.

After the uproar regarding Ms. Sherrod's resignation, Tom Vilsack released a statement on the night of July 20, 2010 saying that the Department will "conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts".

Ms. Sherrod asserts that the NAACP was “the reason why this happened.” They got into a fight with the Tea Party, and all of this came out as a result of that.”She adds that "she might not want her job back if it's offered ... because of all the publicity surrounding what happened … how would I be treated once I'm back there? I just don't know ... I would have to be reassured on that."

On July 21, 2010, Fox News rejected any claims that they helped inflame the situation with a statement saying

[the network] did not make any mention of this story yesterday on the air until after Shirley Sherrod had already lost her job after Secretary Vilsack had already drawn his own conclusions — conclusions that the president apparently agreed with.

Later, the White House sought for an official review of the case. Tom Vilsack, meanwhile, sent an e-mail regarding the issue that states "I am of course willing and will conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts to ensure to the American people we are providing services in a fair and equitable manner."

Ms. Sherrod was at the CNN Center, watching live, when Robert Gibbs extended an apology to her. There, she stated that she had accepted the apology and welcomed the review although she felt that this experience was "bittersweet".

House Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican, criticized Andrew Breitbart's airing of only a small portion of the video. He said, "It’s unfortunate that whoever laid this out there didn’t lay out the whole story, as opposed to a part of it... They only put a little piece of the story out there and people make judgments and they rush and they make bad decisions."

Last night, in an interview with CNN's Larry King, Andrew Breitbart responded to questions regarding his intentions of releasing the video saying that:

This was not about Shirley Sherrod. It's about me. This was about the NAACP attacking the Larry King Live show and this [the video of Ms. Sherrod] is showing racism at an NAACP event. I did not ask for Shirley Sherrod to be fired. I did not ask for any repercussions for Shirley Sherrod. They were the ones that took the initiative to get rid of her. I – I do not – I think she should have the right to defend herself. [R]acism is used by the left and the Democratic Party to shut up opposition [a]nd [by releasing the Sherrod video] I am showing you that people who live in glass houses should not be throwing stones.

Yeah... well, Fox News is not retracting the previous articles as good journalists do. They just do their spinning and leave things out there in the collective memory and internet so we can all stumble across it. I thought Fox News could sink no lower.

Last night on CNN, Anderson Cooper managed to dig into it and even put NAACP on the spot for their actions. ABC also gets a mention for taking the time to do research before making snap judgements. Guess I know where the real journalists are.

Sarah Palin

I have not said anything about her because of several reasons. First, she's not nearly as crucial to the Republican Party as pundits like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity would have people believe. Second, she's not really worth talking about. I thought she was a lightweight, a soft politician unable to think for herself.

This former beauty queen who is a maverick unto herself doesn't have the right character to be an elected official. If anyone criticizes her right or wrong, she has to attack them with legal proceedings. I know from just being a Political Science major that its a tough field. Politicians are built of tougher stuff than the average citizen. For her to cry foul on every statement, joke or insinuation about her or her family shows her naiveté and vulnerability. The fact that she allegedly looks for criticism reveals that she is more concerned with what others think of her than her job.

By constantly needing to "set the record straight" she actually creates a bigger firestorm. Lunging at all who say anything gives nameless and faceless bloggers a bigger podium form which to reach a larger audience. Also, by calling what we do the "record" is to give us far more credit than we deserve. I'm neither her constituent nor a fellow party-member (I'm a lib lib - that's Liberal Libertarian). She owes me nothing! But I can still criticize her to my heart's content. But does what I say become a record that can be used against her in a court of law? NO! I doubt I even have any effect on any voter's mind!

Now that she has announced her resignation as Governor of Alaska she has proven many of her critics correct. She lacked the integrity to stick to the job at hand. Instead she let her ballooning and evermore cartoonish profile overwhelm her. Her "personality" became bigger than the office she held but not in the way anyone would want. It also increased her political vulnerability because those in the Alaskan government knew she had something fragile to protect: her national image, her brand. Book deals and lecture circuits are far more lucrative than the pitiful Office of Alaska Governor.

I am angry at Moose Hunter Barbie! She has set women back a decade. It may be harder for anyone to take a female Presidential Candidate seriously. Thus far, we've achieved Secretary of State thrice and Speaker of the House once. The Glass Ceiling is still the Presidential Ticket. In addition, her public face helps to reinforce a stereotype that women have increasingly worked to obliterate. The ignorant, sheltered, naive soccer/hockey mom whose ambitions go only as far as her hairdo! A woman who cares more about what others think rather than how she has lived her life. It seems her biggest problem is that instead of thinking, she just reacts. To Everything!

So like any young insecure girl uncomfortable with what she has, she stays with the "in-crowd". The trend right now is to distrust all government. Glenn Beck, a political commentator who recently left CNN for Fox News, has pointed out repeatedly how little we can trust our elected officials (Common Sense, Beck). If Palin is reading her tea leaves, she probably sees herself in the grouping that are currently unpopular. So, like a teen girl who must be seen in the latest fashion, she bails on her state in favor of more money and a maverick image that few take seriously.

I sincerely wish her luck with whatever she does. I don't think it matters much. Mostly, I think she's gunning for Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin or Laura Ingraham's job or at least their profiles and bloated bank accounts. Though I'd remind her that these women have what they have by inviting criticism! They sell more books by being polarizing and pushing so far to the right. They have what they have because of their thick skins and ability to use other's anger against them (which though I disagree with much of what they think, say and do, I do applaud this rare characteristic). I have serious reservations about Palin's ability to survive jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

On a personal note: I am an unemployed College Student who has next to nothing. Try and sue me!

Cobra Commander (D-Undisclosed)

A reaction to Fox News and its onscreen "typo" misidentifying McCain's political party. On the Huffintgon Post, there was this comment from someone called Randomizer.

Yeah, man. Drew Pederson is identified as Democrat as is Bin Laden, Kim Il Jong, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. All of them with the (D) underneath their names. Here's some others:
Satan (D-Hell) Hitler (D-Germany) Stalin (D-USSR) Skeletor (D-Eternia) Megatron (D-Chaar)
Pretty much all Democrats.

Love it!

Launches, sinkings, and a beer?

We are now at T+48 hours since Super Tuesday. And there is still plenty going on. Super Tuesday would be exciting on its own, but it feel a month into primary season. The Republican method of primary voting and accumulation of delegates favors a winner-take-all (WTA) method. The Democratic method favors a long slugfest. It will take longer for a nominee to emerge and assume the crown because it they split the delegate proportionally. Hence, a candidate could get more delegates by winning less states. But this is not something I should have to go over.

The reason I bring it up is that pundits like Bill O'Reilly have outlined a scenario (and I think Dick Morris who is bitter toward the Clintons since they ruined his career and the only people who will hire him are Fox) where Obama wins the most delegates but the Super Delegates decide to go with Clinton at the convention. He says there will be a riot and that they will tear the arena down.

If one were to seriously consider Bill O'Reilly's wishful ranting, the democrats would all tear each thoer eyes out on network television for the Conservative power mongers to gloat over. First of all, I don't think it will get that bad. Second, are you really serious? Have you been to a Democratic anything? Democrats won't even yell a person out of the room. Since I'm in the Democratic party, I can't say I've ever felt violence toward another Democrat. I honestly think that Bill O'Reilly would just like to see this happen. A fractured Democratic party would make his day.

On to something that is not political for a minute. There was a shuttle launch. It was not impressive. That is if you consider the better launch pictures that have been done. Come on NASA!!!! Give us a night launch.




Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! That's more like it. Thats what I call a launch!!!!!!

Gotta get some good launches in before the shuttle programs dies a whimpering death in 2010.



Ok, so there were a lot gun toting violence lately. The deaths at a Lane Bryant recently, the home in LA with the SWAT team taking a casualty along with 4 other people. Now some guy in Kentucky opens fire on a city hall meeting. So, was there something in the stars I didn't see? Like the constellation gunus loadus? There sure are a bunch of crazies running around getting their crazy on.

Speaking of crazies... John McCain went to CPAC (I really couldn't help myself... I really love politics but I'm usually not so mean... and that's nice for politics). Before he could speak Mitt Romney did. He said that he couldn't be the one to blame if the Democrats got the White House. The Democrats he claims, would allow us to be defeated by surrendering the war in Iraq. So, he suspended his campaign. This means he has pulled out. He's still in denial. The Mitt Romney ship has sunk. All right.... it hit a sand bar... but it lost almost all of its sails.... or its in a dead calm.... something....

Before McCain got up to speak, cons at the con (heh) were switching their Romney T-shirts for McCain t-shirts. How astounding: the red headed stepchild of the Republican party at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Group) where even they can't stick to their convictions and principles [grind teeth].

I'm not a conservative. There are beliefs I hold that are conservative but I will not consider myself a conservative for some pretty big reasons. 1. I like people of all types and refuse to be exclusionary and/or intolerant. 2. I think religion is for the church/synagoge/temple/home. It has no place in politics, as part of domestic policy or the basis for laws. No one should expect a country to be made in the mold of a particular faith. Its unfair and intolerant. It infringes other people's 1st amendment rights. 3. I use reason and logic. I think therefore I am not conservative or liberal. You all have your neuroses and need therapy.

To me, McCain is like that. He doesn't judge a person by their party but takes time to get to know them as people. He reminds me a bit of professor of history (a subject McCain likes) who is a bit more hippie than McCain but he is still on of those guys who likes to get to know his students as people. McCain does that with his fellow Senators and enjoys meetings of the mind with them. I've said this before and I'll say it again: We need someone with a proven record of working with the other party. McCain has that.

I watched the speech with baited breath. Hell, I'd been waiting for this one. First, cowboy boot wearing George "macaca" Allen of Virginia introduced Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. I can't help but wonder if not for that video in 2006, would Allen be running and winning this nomination? Anyways, Tom Coburn came out and talked about McCain's courage. Coburn might be commended for his courage, too. In the late '90's, he locked horns with then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich because the Republican led Congress was spending just like the Democrats had been before they had taken over. Nothing had changed and the "Contract with America" was in shambles. He's also worked with Senator Obama. I'd say he like McCain is not afraid to work with someone who has a "D" attached to their name. He also has the regret of his remarks against the airing of Schindler's List to contend with for the rest of his life.

But getting on to the speech itself. I liked it. It was perfect, quiet, John McCainness and simple. He didn't get into specifics which is fine. There were some real nice parts. Like the boo that turned into a cheer. I'll call it a beer. I have no idea why this happened. I only saw McCain do this sort of beseeching shrug that he does. It always seems like his arms are awkward for him. I blame that on the fact that the range of motion in his arms is limited. I believe he cannot raise them to a certain point.

Anyways, this beer started out with the crowd booing when he brought up immigration. I understand their reason for doing that. McCain worked with Ted Kennedy, the living God of Democrats, to formulate a bill on immigration that ultimately failed. He admits to this. It was a so-called "path to citizenship". I'm with the conservatives on immigration but I'm also with McCain. I find immigrants to be criminals. They broke our laws to get in here and continue to break them with their continued presence here. I won't generalize and get into statements of tenement housing and bad driving. These are stereotypes that are as dangerous as general statements about Jews and Roman Catholics.

But, as much as they broke laws and entered our nation illegally, which means they have little respect for a nation's government and lack integrity, there needs to be a solution that works for everyone. We cannot throw the 12+ million people back to Mexico. This would be a humanitarian disaster. It would destroy Mexico. Some would welcome this but hold on a second! Destroying Mexico would not help us but rather, hurt us. If their fragile economy collapses due to a sudden influx of people that it cannot support, we'd have to prop up the flagging economy anyway.

The other option is to figure out a way to reduce the illegal immigrants coming across our border and to get those here to become citizens so they can pay into a system they already benefit from. Getting them out would be far more problematic and violent. No one wants the blood of another country's citizens, criminals or not, on their hands. So, the compromise that he made with Kennedy is justified.

But this boo... as it progressed, it turned into a cheer. A loud and resounding cheer. I don't know if Allen and Coburn started scowling at the audience since they were told to be nice. Maybe conservatives saw it within themselves to be nice. I'd like to know what actually happened there in the ballroom because they certainly didn't show it on TV.

And did you see the covereage of CPAC on Fox? I nornally watch CNN or MSNBC but considering the nature of this speech, getting reaction from the conservatives themselves would be key. But Fox did something that I find reprehensible. Look at the picture below. See if you can pick put out any errors.

That's right!!! Fox has democratized John McCain (I'm taking credit for this new use of the word right now) . They misidentify any republican they want to and claim its a typo. The odds that there'd would be these typos at moments when the Republican party is in a crises or, like when Mark Foley admitted one of their own screws up and only these times are slim. The odds of that each time these mistakes occur, it would always be a "D" is even more slim. I'm no mathematician but I understand probability and randomness from my experience as a pollster and working in statistics. There is no way that Fox can stand by their assertions. At least not without knowing how stupid they look. If I were self-respecting journalist, I could not work with/for Fox without either walking away from this excuse for a "fair and balanced" news outfit or losing my integrity for remaining with them. What a fucking joke!!!!!!!

All right, this post has gone on long enough. I did want to add some clips from The Daily Show from Wednesday night. Jon Stewart takes on the coverage of the primaries on the News outlets. Enjoy!!!



and this!



Ok, The moment of Zen, too.



Bonne Soiree!!!!!!

Where the hell have I been??!??

If you read this and were annoyed that I stopped blogging, I apologize. Several things happened and I shall break them down as succintly as possible:

1. FINALS! Yes, there was finals and I was stressed beyond all measure. But I got out with an A, 2 B's and a C. I call that a good semester. I can do better, however.

2. I had things to worry about like the holidays.

3. I worked a ton during the break.

4. I really didn't care but I did remember. I cannot use the lame excuse of forgetting.

5. I rediscovered my love for all things Galactica, Firefly and Science Fiction novels in general.

So as you can see, I just wasn't ready for running a blog of this nature. Speaking of "nature", I want to add that nature is fucking cold right now. It's like 10 and were happy for 10 here in Minnesota.

Besides that, I want to ask what is the nature of this site? I must reiterate that I basically posted a mission statement right at the top of this page. See it up there? I will, however, restate it now in a different form. I will try, to the best of my ability, to distill local, state, national and international politics, economics and downright newsiness for you my loyal reader (as in there is 1 of you). I aim to add my own opinion (when I feel warranted) and to analyze pertinent facts and events surrounding a particular story, developing or otherwise. I will not let my own political bias hinder my ability to attack those who need attacking, i.e. politicos who just plain screw up. Or CNN or Fox for being media... well, the media. The media just sucks anyways...

I'll admit that I have a healthy fascination for the weather (and weather reporting... there's some real comedy in that, let me tell ya), spies, International bodies like the United Nations, Anderson Cooper, weird crimes, idiocyncrasies that bother me, stupid politicians and history. I like to ground each entry in "back in the day" sections. I feel knowing what others were experiencing on this day in yoner year (oh, alliteration...) is helpful and also reminds us that others trod this grund before. Sometimes there are startling acheivements, disasters, battles or just plain oddness. I like the oddness.

There are some bits of news I failed to make any comment over the intervening 43 days. This was an oversight on my part. Here is a list of news items I failed to make a comment on and may try to make up for my apathy/lack of time:

1. Saddam Hussein was executed. The Iraqi government hung the former dictator in a fashion unbecoming to most western nations. His corpse was danced about by Shiites celebrating his recent demise. On Fox, a particularly amusing graphic was displayed showing his corpse. On the left side of the screen was Saddam "Alive", and on the right, his "dead" body. I couldn't help but be befuddled and amused by this. It reminded a friend of a moment in a film when someone was sorting dead rats and saying "alive"... "dead". We believe it was Transylvania 65000.

2. Gerald Ford died. He was never elected President, but nevertheless, led our country througho ne of its darkest periods. He also open the military academies to women. And pardoned Nixon. The flags will remain at half mast for another week or so. (Yes, I said half mast not half staff...)

3. Barbara Boxer v. Condoleeza Rice. What?

4. Donald Trump v. Condoleeza Rice. Double What?

5. Trump v. Rosie. eh....

6. The Next Harry Potter will be "The Deadly Hallows". That's hallows like hallowed ground, hallowed be his name and hallowe'en.

7. Pinochet, Chilean dictator, died at age 91. No one cared and it only rated below Harry Potter and The Don.

8. Tim Johnson, a US senator, was hospitalized with a mild stroke. Before he was even evaluated, US news outlets were already discussing the possible return of power to Republican hands. They weren't even waiting to see if he died.

9. Ex Russian Spy turned British citizen and author (and Muslim), Alexander Litvinenko, was finally covered in depth by 60 Minutes. About bloody Time!

10. Denver shut down for snow: $Billions. Holiday travellers stranded in terminals on stiff, smelly cots: ^#$^ %&#!!!! Laughing at my sister for moving there and claiming they hardely get any snow there: Priceless.

Back in the year 1265, The English parliament convened at the Palace of Westminster for the first time.

In 1892, the first game of basketball was played at a YMCA in Springfield Massachussetts.

And the Nazis, in 1942, agreed on the "final solution" to the European Jewry. The result was the holocaust the significant impact on world politics, culture and geography.

That's it from my end.

Fox labels Foley Democrat by "mistake"... right.....

Yeah, I realize the Daily Show covered this one, along with everyone else, but I had to post about it, too. I read about it on Wonkette yesterday. To be honest, I am not surprised. The fact that it

happened on the O'Reilly Show, really not surprised. For someone who claims its a No-Spin Zone, he sure as hell does a ton of spinning. Not to mention shouting matches that leave me one or both several things: a) angry, b)bewildered, c) confused, d)dumbfounded, e) exacerbated f) frustrated g) galled h)hysterical i) inflamed j) jaundiced k) kvetching l) livid m) malcontented n) nonplussed o) offended p) perturbed q) quesrulous r) raging s) splenetic t) troubled u) upset v) vexed w) withered x) xerotic (look it up) y) yarling and z) zealous.

Here's a link so you can actually view said "mistake". I watched Anderson Cooper 360 last night, though I also watched The Towering Inferno right before. The Towering Inferno made me feel better, if that means anything to you. At least I got to look at a younger (near 50) Paul Newman (like his age even matters, he's still gorgeous!) and Steve McQueen in one of his last major roles before his death (my Mom adored him and even had a crush on my Dad when they first met because she thought he looked a little like him and was a Macinist Mate like McQueen's character in The Sand Pebbles - a great movie with Mako back in the day...). I then watched the replay of 360 and there were more gorillas! Yay for Anderson and gorillas. Cuteness and adorkability aside, he's living out a dream of mine. I've always wanted to see gorillas. Even the one checking out his ass would have been fine to me. I wouldn't care if a gorilla did that.

Anyways, my real beef though is the feedback. Are people honestly unhappy about this? What, you think the government is seriously working on this? If they were, wouold we really have Bono running around talking about debt relief?

The blog over at 360 makes the point (actually, Anderson did and I don't know if it might be because of Final Jeopardy question he got wrong...) about how our hi-tech life is basically bankrupting the Congolese people. How? We need a particular mineral called coltan which is a black, graphite looking substance primarily made up of Niobium and Tantalum. The name is, in fact, a contraction of Columbite and tantalite. It is used to make tiny little electronic parts in cell phones, laptops and PDAs. Think of a mobile tech device and it likely has it. It is found mostly in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For those of you who are unfamiliar with geography, it was once known as Zaire. Its in AFRICA. That's South of Europe in the eastern hemisphere. It was once colonized Belgium (called the Belgian Congo) and was brutally impovershed, oppressed and enslaved by King Leopold in his quest to have empire. The legacy continues. Coltan mines are valuable and therefore, roving militias fight for control of these mines and the revenues they bring. They pillage, burglarize and rape the people and little to nothing is done to stop conditions there.

Thats basically (really basic) problem. There are indeed far deeper issues and problems facing DR Congo not to mention, many central African nations. But what I don't understand is why aren't we talking about this? We could protest aratheid but not the massive humanitarian problems in Afrcia? Is it because we can't be bothered to think our cell phones are causing harm to others? Blackberry-addicted Anderson Cooper seems to be well aware. And I'm not holding him up asa model of who to emulate but keep in mind, he's a techy guy. He likes his mobile devices just as much as the next 30-something male professional.

Yeah... Go Coop...

Back on this day in good ol' 1969, Monty Python's Flyg Circus went on the air. It really was something completely different. Ironically, the following year, PBS became a real station. Imagine that!

In 1986, we found out what we pretty much knew: Israel has nukes.

And in 1991, Linux vers. 0.02 was released. This was the first official release of the kernal and after that, my PC would never be the same. Really, its not. You should try linux.

(Screencap coutesy of Anderson and the gorilla (who was a girl, too) came from All Things Anderson cuz they're so cool)

(BTW, if I was going to show a screen cap pf Fox, whom I loathe, then I had to show CNN, a channel I love. You can see the bias wrtten all over this post in several layers...just letting ya know!)

The Reaction to Bill Clinton: Retorts and...Socks?

Let me preface this post with a comment: I rant at times. Sometimes for great length. I did not go too long in this post. I started out nice and calm but as I wrote more and more, I began to seethe till finally, I exploded in a torrent of anger and insanity focused on the actions of my government. I do not apologize because I'm exercising my first amendment right to free speech. I honestly don't think its that bad but... whatever.

**********************************************************************

I did say I'd find the links to the video of the interview. They are in fact on YouTube. Its in three parts and can be found at these links: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Onwards to the reaction to Clinton.

I know my appreciation for CNN knows no bounds. I can't help it. It was ingrained in me as a child because my parents loved the news and it was the only 24 hour news network there was. They invented the damned thing. I also loved that James Earl Jones ident that you never hear anymore. The only other channel we watched as much was the Weather Channel! Well, in the last 24 hours or so (except for some of 360 last night), I've watched the "others". I wanted to see how Fox and not to mention MSNBC, ABC, and CBS would cover the Clinton interview. I know what Coop said about it last night and that was good enough for me as far as CNN was concerned. I loved it on 360 last night when they revealed this regarding Clinton: "Spokesman Tony Snow, a former FOX News commentator quipped, 'He retorts, you decide.'" Excellant! A "Rush" transcript of 360 can be read here. To Anderson Cooper's credit, he reported the news with nothing in the way of opinion and interviewed numerous people from different schools of thought. That's why I love Anderson!

Earlier in the day, I watched Good Morning America. Diane Sawyer had Bill O'Reilly on to discuss the recently broadcast Bill Clinton interview we all love to analyze to death. He was milder than he normally is. I can only guess it was because it wasn't his show, he wasn't in charge and its Dame Diane Sawyer, a real Lady of Journalism. He said that Clinton as well as many in the current administration such as the hated 4: Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld. Not to bring me back to Cooper but it reminded me of the spinning going on a year ago about Katrina. Mary Landrieu said people were frustrated. People aren't frustrated! People are dying!!! Those people are our servicmen and women! Whatever...

I watched Keith Olbermann and his Countdown over on MSNBC. I like Olbermann and I wish he wasn't on MSNBC which I forget about half the time because its on channel 70 and all the other news channels are clustered together in the 30's. "The Dirty Thirties!" ...Anyway. Olbermann devoted quite a large chunk of his show to an editorial. He pointed out that Clinton's "tear" during the interivew on Fox opened up a lot of doors, not to mention windows, doggie doors, escape hatches and bunker seals to run around and scream at the current administration for their ineptitude and inane stupidity. He also claimed that it was a wake-up call to the media as a whole. That they need no longer swig from the bottle of booze known as Stooge. They could now start ripping down the sets that Bush and his administration built. Olbermann went for quite some time on his own "tear" toward Bush and his administration. So much so I almost jumped up and applauded. I didn't but I shed a tear or ten. Its nice to see the press finally get a spine back. His editorial can (and should) be read here.

This morning on MSNBC, they were still going on about this interview but now they were splitting hairs. An anchorwoman on MSNBC was discussing with two men about Clinton showing a little leg. Apparently, his socks were too low and his pants were too high. Couldn't someone tell him "to pull down his pants?" Oh yeah, that was brilliant! I was astounded that they would devote any more time than 10 seconds mentioning Clinton's wardrobe malfunction.

Ok... things are getting absurd. Maybe they were to begin with. Now, there is talk of pre-planning (isn't planning already pre-whatever? That's like pre-early. "I wanted to beat you here so I got here pre-early") on both sides. Did Wallace plan on brow-beating Clinton to deflect criticsm of Murdoch getting cozy with Clinton and his initiatives? Did Clinton plan on ripping Wallace a new asshole on the GOP leaning Fox news? One may believe that both are correct statements. Fox did need to make an effort to offset the potentially troubling coupling. Dems need help for the election in 5-6 weeks. Leaking parts of the National Intelligence Estimate isn't enough. (Which if you don't know about that, lord, help you!)

Was Wallace even smirking? His colleagues all jokingly told him "just don't smirk!" And Clinton's finger wagging... well, the last time he did that was in fact when he told us he didn't have sexual relations with Monica.

Take this how you want to. There's spinning on either side. Case in point: Condalezza Rice has come out today to talk about Clinton's claims that the Bush administration was asleep at the wheel its first 8 months. "The notion somehow for eight months the Bush administration sat there and didn't do that is just flatly false - and I think the 9/11 commission understood that," she said in interview with many staff members of the New York Post. She also mentioned "we were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al-Qaida" contradictory to Clinton's assertion that he did. The same article ends with Hillary, always defending her husband, saying "I just think that my husband did a great job in demonstrating that Democrats are not going to take this." And, in fact, it is likely they won't take any of this anymore.

But before I declare the Democrats awake and out of torpor, I must briefly mention that many of these people went along with every brazen and emboldened thing Bush could think up to ruin this country. Why? Fear be damned, its politics! The Politics of Fear, in fact, a strategy most usefully employed by lords and kings in the feudal era. That was when "Might makes Right" was the slogan of the day. The Bush administration continues to use fear as a political tool to keep the left doing their bidding, the media reporting what he says they can and the American people as a whole sweating and re-electing. He keeps us scared for his own ends. And we are turning into the country we swore we never would, that we wouldn't be terrorized by terrorists. But we are! We are scared because of our privacy isn't, our rights are infringed, we can't bring liquids on airplanes, there's anthrax in the air and e. coli on our spinach (Ok, the last one isn't related but whatever...). They keep asking if Americans feel safer now and the answer is no!!! How could we be? And how can we feel safer with a government that reveals nothing? Even if al-Quada didn't exist, I'd still be scared becuase my government is frightening!!!

So, our government still runs on the medieval idea of whomever has the ability to kill more must be the best. In a WWE smackdown, sure! But this is Global Politics and we are a democracy. Conflict should never be settled with bombs and bullets but debate and discourse. I'm hoping Bill Clinton opened the flood gates for the Democratic Party. I hope they launch into scathing attacks of not only the failings of the current administration but also the lies, the deception and the stupid strategies employed by nitwits who can't win either war we're in. I hope...

And if I sounded crazed and Clinton looked crazed its because we are. Fox did itself a disservice by advertising the crazed Clinton. Anyone would be crazed at this day and year for all the shit we see happening. I feel as though I'm living in Nazi Germany before the war: I'm watching the beacon on the hill become the cesspool in the sewer. And I just can't take it anymore!!!!!

There are too many things to bitch about. I'm done. There is nothing else to say. Whatever...

Conservative hit job?!?!?!

Former president William Jefferson Clinton was inteviewed by Chris Wallace for Fox News' Sunday show. the 42nd President seemed to lose it and go on a "tear". He accused Wallace of being unfair. Not to quote him or anything but he told Wallace "you did Fox's bidding on this show. You did your nice little conservative hit job on me". Clinton was asked specifically Why he didn't put Bin laden and al-Qaeda "out of business". He immediately became aggressive in his reply. He claims that he was obsessed with finding and killing Bin Laden, that he planned strikes on Afghanistan but scrubbed them because of backlash. He also planned an invasion to get Bin laden but was denied basing abilities in Uzbekistan.

The entire transcript should be read but it doesn't do it justice. Can't wait to find the whole thing on YouTube.

On a completely different train of thought, The 12 signs of fascism. Must be seen!

Night!

The Devil you say!

Yesterday, at the United Nations, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, spoeke out against the United States and its hegemonic political policies. In fact, here is the juicy bits where Chavez refered to President George W. Bush as the devil.

I think that the first people who should read this book are our brothers and sisters in the United States, because their threat is right in their own house.

"The devil is right at home. The devil, the devil himself, is right in the house.

"And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the devil came here. Right here." [crosses himself] "And it smells of sulfur still today."

"Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world."

A transcript of the speech can be found on this site. Want to watch it?

The book he refers to is Noam Chomsky's book Hegemony or Survival: The Imperialist Strategy of the United States which has jumped to the top of Amazon's sales rankings after being somewhere in the very obscure. He encouraged Americans to read it and evidently, they are taking him up on it.

Also, Anderson Cooper interviewed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his show last night. Cooper only got 20 minutes with the leader so there wasn't time to get into the most meaty questions such Iran's plans for world domination and the spread of Islam. He did however ask him if the President does indeed believe the holocaust did not occur. Ahmadinejad circtitiously answered the question with evasion and repetition. He did make sure that we know that the Iranian people love Americans and peace. At one point he accused Cooper of asking him similar questions and that his questions were given to him. Anderson Cooper retorted that they were his and we have free press in this country unlike Iran. In defense of Anderson, what could he do? Ahmadinejad never came out and answered a question and Cooper wanted --WANTED -- those answers so he fought for them but eventually moved on.

Which is what I'm doing now. The military coup in Thailand was apparently a bloodless coup. However, the political machinations of the country such as the ability to speak out and assemble have been banned. Radio and Television operatrions are under the control of the military. Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is in London after arriveing there from New York. He was in the US for the opening if the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations. Four of the Prime Ministe's government are being detained by the militray which has declared martial law. The man in charge now is General Sonthi Boonyaratglin who has stated that he intends to return Thailand to Democracy as soon as possible. The King evidently approves of the coup and its likely it wouldn't have occured if he hadn't given prior blessings. Lukman B. Lima, exiled leader of Muslim rebels, hailed the coup d'etat as a move in the right direction. The Army Cheif is a Muslim and could help end the conflict between the Buddhist and Muslim factions within Thailand.

The woman who stole the baby in Missouri is allegedly Shannon Torrez. She claims to have miscarried a baby the morning of the abduction. She arrived at her hearing today and kept her head down. The hearing lasted about 20 minutes and the woman never spoke above a whisper. She was seen to be wiping tears away. One can only wonder what is going through her mind during this time. As for the baby, she has been returned to her mother and father. The baby was spotted by Torrez' sister-in-law when they went to take the baby to the doctor. She noticed makeup and the baby's forehead that was no doubt there ot cover the baby's distintive and well pubilcized birth mark. After rubbing it off, she confronted Torrez and then took the baby and handed her over to authorities. Good on ya, lady!

One last comment regarding Bill O'Reilly whom I don't hate because he's fiercely conservative. In fact, I don't hate him. My serious issues with O'Reilly are his tendency to believe he knows everything and his desire to try and convict people on his show despite his being ill qualified for both. My other large problem with the talking head is his propensity to yell down others and disrespect those of different opinions. Unless you're a conservative lapdog (or as they were called back in the early 90's, populist) or Ann Coulter, you're going to crucified if you go on his show. To add to my list of peeves against the "No Spin" guy is his apparent gloating about being on al-Qaeda's death list while being interviewed by Barbara Walters for ABC's 20/20. "With the controversy comes death threats on a daily basis," O'Reilly said on Wednesday night's show. "Not only from kooks. But the FBI came in and warned me and a few other people at Fox News that al Qaeda had us on a death list. That's a little disconcerting." But who goes about telling people about that? Apparently, O'Reilly who lives on the edge, keeping alive by doing whatever it is he does.... On RADAR online, people at FOX and the FBI both denied the claim. An angent for the FBI even went so far as to say "I'm not aware of any FBI agents warning anyone at Fox News of their presence on any list....For that matter, I'm not aware of any al-Qaeda hit list targeting journalists. Agents from the D.C. field office, FBI headquarters, and an agent from the kidnapping unit went to Fox's offices in New York last month to advise them specifically on the Gaza kidnapping [of Fox employees Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig]. But they only talked to management, they didn't talk to any individual journalists".

Its a Slow News Day.

That is, if you don't count the developments in the JonBenet Ramsey case. The DNA results have come back and they do not match. I'm so glad I didn't get hyped over this. Some others on the other hand. The Media interviewed family and friends and they were all overjoyed that the perpetrator was found. A scrawny little fraction of a man confesses to a crime with little evidence even placing him in the state and they're happy. It was not open and shut and there was still procedures to follow not to mention a TRIAL! So, I blame the media for causing a lot of ballyhoo over something that turned out to be nothing. Keep waiting, Patsy. They haven't found him yet.

World's oldest person died today at 116. Maria Esther de Capovilla, of Equador, passed away on Sunday and leaves Tennesee woman Elizabeth Bolden as the oldest living person. Capovilla was born the same year as Hitler, Charlie Chaplin and Jean Cocteau.

Bush toured the Gulf States today to jabber on about a "sense of renewal". Who wants a sense of it? Just do it! He travelled to Biloxi where he spoke aobut continued progress. Does he know that poll released earlier this month found that 2/3 of the American people still dissapprove of his handling of the catastrophe. Guess he uses the showman's advice after all: Never read your own press (or quote it). Later I watched a report on Fox News (I know, I know...) about the place where Hurricane Katrina made landfall. You'd think from all the focus that is was New Orleans but it wasn't. Plaquemines parish saw the brunt of the storm and then saw it levees fail. But its getting nothing to help rebuild its levees. It has been forgotten. Kudos to Fox News, normally the lap dog of the Republican Party and President Bush, for reporting on this terrible "oversight".

Neat Link: New Oleans, before and after the Hurricane.

In Canada, a man was told he couldn't throw candy from his float in a parade. It might injure the miniature adults, aka children. He bought $8 worth of penny candy to throw. Kids might get hurt by the flying candy or by stepping into the road to get said candy. Oh Good God.

Three people are reported dead after bombs rock the Turkish seaside town of Antalya. Twenty-one are reported injured as well. Earlier there were explosions in Marmaris and Istanbul. Twenty-one people were also injured in Marmaris while 6 people were killed in Istanbul. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a militate group, has claimed responsibility for the Marmaris and Istanbul bombings.

There was a small plane that went down in a lake in Indianapolis. All 5 passengers survived. Question: Why was this Breaking News on CNN, MSNBC, Fox, the Today Show, etc.? It was so minor as to be laughbale.

Update: The pilot died.

On this day back in 1916, Germany declared war on Romania whilst Italy declared war on Germany.

On this day in 1850, Wagner's Lohengrin opera premiered in Weimar, Germany (My middle name is the French version of that name so its kind of meaningful to me.)

Also on this day 10 years ago, Prince Charles and Princess Diana were formally divorced after 15 years together.

A year ago: New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. If only he knew then what he knows now.