I Have Discovered My One Talent

If you ever see me standing in a checkout line, take my advice: Don't get behind me! I have a talent for picking the wrong line, every time.

Example - I go to Walmart to pick up just a couple of items. I see that one of the self checkout registers is open so I head for that one. But someone else beats me to it. I think that's ok he only has two jugs of Hawaiian Punch, shouldn't take long. Then I notice that he has 15 packs of Kool-Aid in his hand. God, it takes him forever to check out. With every scan he checks that it scans correctly, then he can't figure out that the register is looking for him to place the item into the bagging area. The Kool-Aid packs are light and the machine can't tell they have been put into the bag so you have to tell it to skip bagging. It's all I can do to keep cool. Finally, after 15 minutes he gets it done and I can get the hell out of there.

Paul Krugman Today

Krugman lays out the real causes for the collape of the modern GOP.

That guy should get the Nobel Prize. Oh yeah, he did!

Happy New Year!

Let the diets begin.

And A Very Merry Christmas To You All!

I'm sitting here trying to get my grandson's iPod up and running. My belly is full and my back porch is covered with garbage bags full of wrapping paper, bows and boxes. I think everyone got what they wanted for Christmas and then some. Who knows about next year?

Cheers to everyone! God bless you poor bastards who are under many feet of snow. I hope you are where you need to be or if not, will be there soon. If you are stuck somewhere you don't want to be just think of the stories you will have to tell.

God Bless!

A Christmas Carol For You All

http://www.themudflats.net/2008/12/19/bedtime-in-alaska-7th-day-of-christmas/

Oh, Jesus

I just can't get as upset as some about Rick Warren giving the invocation at Obama's Inaguration. I mean really, who gives a shit? It will only be about 2 minutes of our time anyway. Obama ran on the promise that he will be the President of all Americans. That means rightwing, homophobic dickheads too.

Cougars In Mississippi

Not the human kind.

These pictures were taken from a deer stand around Bay Springs, Ms by a remote controlled night vision camera.

Mmmm, fresh deer meat.

Union Busting GOP

With the auto industry needing help from the federal government, Congress and the White House have a compromise bill that has passed the the House that is now ready for the Senate. Now, in comes the Republican Senators standing shoulder to shoulder against it. They even stayed out of the negotiations so they could torpedo it. This is all political theater. They don't give a Tinker's Dam about the autoworkers. As a matter of fact, they see a clear opportunity to bust the UAW even though the union is working and has been working with management giving concessions year after year to keep the industry viable.

Senators Corker from Tennessee,the minority leader McConnell of Kentucky and Shelby of Alabama are the most vocal against helping the automakers. Why? I would guess it is because foreign automakers have plants in all of those states. If the American companies fail that means more business for their autoworkers. I believe this is a clear conflict of interest for these Senators. Why doesn't the news media ask them about this everytime I see them interviewed on the TV?

I Hope It's Good

The movie Watchmen is due out in March 2009. I just finished the graphic novel. From the trailers it looks as if the film follows the comic pretty closely.

Go look at the trailers here: http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

The site is pretty cool too. Notice the Comedian's cigar.

It's A Bailout, It's A Loan...

It's a bailout loan.

The reason I think the bailout/loan to the big 3 auto makers won't work is because people are not buying cars and trucks due to the fact that they are uncertain about the future. Why would anyone go into debt for 4 or 5 years on a new car when they don't know if they will have a job tomorrow?

Sunday,Sunday,Sunday

Living Room project is done as you can see...

Slept late today. 8:30, wow! Not like me to sleep past 7 but it is a rainy day here and there are no pressing chores that need to be done so why not.

Had a very pleasant Thanksgiving. Everyone was in a good mood and just seemed happy to be together for the holiday. My grandchildren just left for the trip back to Cabot, Arkansas. All is quiet in the house again.

We got the Christmas tree up. My wife has been decorating it for the past 2 days. This has to be done the day after Thanksgiving so the kids can help her. I got the outside lights up yesterday after chasing bad bulbs for 4 hours.

I did get the leaves from the front and side yards raked and up to the street. The city comes by and sucks them up so we don't have to bag. Love it. I still have the back yard to go but the weather is not cooperating today, so it looks as if that will have to wait until next weekend. So, I guess it's going to be a lazy Sunday.

Turkey Day!

Gettin' ready for Thanksgiving. My grandchildren will be here tonight along with 6 chi-chi-wawa dogs. When the dogs get here my dog Jake goes nuts. It will take at least an hour to get them all calmed down.

My carpenter is putting up the crown moulding in the living room. When he finishes, that will be that. Project complete! Ya!

Happy Thanksgiving!

John Prine

I was listening to John Prine's first album while painting the living room. I have listened to this record a million time since it came out in 1971. I never get tired of it. I can just think of a Prine song and feel better. He is a national treasure.

Living Room Project

I am back to working on my living room project. My brother who lives in Pangburn, Arkansas came down a couple of weekends ago and we installed new sheetrock over the entire ceiling. I finished rebuilding all three windows, tightening them up as I went (they are old, drafty windows). I stripped all of the woodwork in the room, primed and painted. New crown molding needs to be installed. I am thinking of letting my carpenter friend do that for me. I am not much of a trim carpenter.

Unbelievable

My office has WRVR piped into the paging system. It is painfull to listen to most days, but today, November 13th, they start their annual Christmas music marathon. Christmas music 24/7! Before Thanksgiving! Weeks before Thanksgiving!

No one, I mean no one wants to be reminded that Christmas is coming! Especially with the economy in the shape it is in. You know you are not going to get that bonus this year. Hell, you'll be lucky if you don't get a pink slip.

Merry Christmas! Bah!

President Obama!

It's the morning after an historic election. I have seen a few in my life but this one feels right. I have been following the campaigns since the day after the '06 elections when a lot of Republicans were swept out of office. I knew then that the people of this country were starting to pay attention to what was going on in Washington. What they were seeing was an executive branch that was out of control and a Congress that refused to reign it in. They saw corruption and cronyism they probably had never seen the their lifetime. An administration that followed it's own ideology no matter what the cost. Now maybe we can start putting this country back together. TOGETHER!

Congratulations to President-elect Obama!

Voted!

I just picked up my wife and we voted at 10:30. Ten minute wait. Of course we live in a small town so I don't think lines are going to be a problem. The after work crowd may slow things down a little but the polling place seemed pretty efficient while we were there.

Alright....

Get off of the internets and go vote!

Boo....

This is the scariest thing I have seen this week:

Country Music Singer Files for Bankruptcy

Lorrie Morgan filed for bankruptcy. Not all that interesting to me except for this:

"Last year, Morgan filed for divorce from country singer Sammy Kershaw. Court records show she cited irreconcilable differences and asked the court to enforce a prenuptial agreement.
Kershaw, who filed for bankruptcy in 2007, recently ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Louisiana. He was Morgan's fifth husband."

Fifth husband? Goddamn!

The Old Tricks From the Rove-GOP Playbook...

...are not working this year.

(I haven't posted in a while. Busy trying to get things ready for fall around the yard.)

The reasons for for this are many. Right track/wrong track numbers, etc. Glenn Greenwald has an excellent post today covering this.

Also, I want to say that I don't want to start celebrating too soon, but the latest poll numbers look very good for not only Obama but for Democrats in general. It probably won't make much difference here in Mississippi, but one can always hope.

Paul Krugman Wins The Nobel Prize for Economics

... and Larry Kudrow's head explodes.

Congratulations Dr. Krugman!

p.s. Read his book "The Great Unraveling". If I were him I would be jumping up and down and saying "I told you so! , I told you so!"

It's Getting Dangerous Out There

The folks who have been in power (more or less) for the last 30 years see it all slipping away. It seems as if they are willing to tap into people's anger and point it at Obama.

Since the Finger Pointing Has Begun...

and it looks as if the Pundits are trying to point to the poor folk who bought houses they could not afford, this artical in Newsweek.

Post Debate Thoughts

This town-hall format was supposed to be John McCain's strong suit. I guess if the hall was filled with Republicans it would have been.

Over-all I thought the debate was rather boring. This may be because I have already made my mind up to vote for Obama. The snap polls show at least a 2 to 1 favorability for Obama after the debate.

One other thought: Everyone likes a winner. Once the ball really starts rolling toward Obama as the inevitable winner in this election, it will snowball and roll right over McCain-Palin and spill over onto every other Republican running for office this year. It will be a total rout.

Tonight!

Tonight is the second presidential debate. I hope John McCain pops a blood vessel. His anger is at the surface and ready to blow at any minute.

Fail

The Wall Street Bailout failed in the House today. I am torn. On the one hand I don't want another Great Depression. On the other I don't want to give 700 BILLION DOLLARS to this administration.

The stock market fell 777+ points today also. They are back to the same levels they were when Bill Clinton left office. In other words, the past 7 years' gains have been wiped out.

No money for Social Security, no money for Medicaid or Medicare, no money for education, no money for anything. The GOP has always believed that government was the problem and should be eliminated. I guess they have gotten their wish.

George W. Bush's task I believe was to destroy the federal government. Well, mission accomplished.

Thought Of The Day...

I wonder when Sarah Palin will have her crying jag?

It's On Bitches!

The debate is on! Goody. I will have beer and popcorn ready.

Chicken-Shit McCain

Running away from a fight.

The Tiberius Effect

I've been thinking about the John McCain cheerleaders I see on my TeeVee. They look as if they are simply going through the motions. Like they really don't care for this guy. But they want to see him elected, not because they think he will be the best man for the job, but because he will be worse than Bush. It's called the Tiberius Effect. Bush's legacy is 9/11, the War on Iraq, Katrina and now the meltdown of the financial markets. Bush has nothing that will save him so the only thing that can be done is to elect someone to the presidency that will be vastly worse for the country than him. So bad in fact the people will look back on the Bush years with nostalgia.

Thought Of The Day

John McCain is Sarah Palin's bitch. Yea, I said it. Suck on it McCain.

Too Funny

Tbogg is on a roll.

'bout Time

I believe the McCain campain has pissed off untold minions (his base... The Press). I don't think that's going to work this time around. I think the press is tired of being pushed around by the Rethugs.

Totally Mavaricky

So after the glow of the most watched nomination acceptance speech in history, John McCain "zings" one to the punditry: Announcing his pick for VP, a greenhorn govenor from the 47th most populist state in the union. You can see the smirk on McCain's face as he watches her accept her role as his VP.

You know on this blog I like to quote John Cole. Here's what I believe is the reason for McCain's pick: "Really, the only way I think this helps the ticket is that the McCain campaign can now feign outrage over alleged sexist remarks at the same time they are on the fainting couches decrying some mythical slight to McCain’s honor."

This is the most cynical VP choice he could have used. Of course the MSM thinks his pick is his "roll of the dice", his maverickness manifest. God save us all.

Thought For Today

"the GOP has become a lawless party of criminals and reprobates"...John Cole

Sums it up for me.

I Don't Think This Will Help

John McCain wants to announce his VP choice on this 72nd birthday. I don't think I would do anything to point out the fact that I am 72 years old while running for President of the United States.

People might sit up and take notice.

Another Right-Wing Nut?

This would never happen at a Republican Party Headquarters.

He would know at least one person there would be packin' heat.

Beware The Wrinkly White Haired Dudes...

I noticed something in the editorial section of today's Memphis Commercial Appeal. See if you can see what it is.

Then I watched Karl "King Maker" Rove on CBS' Face the Nation. I don't know if anyone else noticed that he mentioned the editorial pages in today's newspapers? It's the old Rovian one-two punch we have seen in the last 2 election cycles. All Karl needed was a softball interviewer like Bob Schiefer who he knew would not challenge him on anything he said. You will hear a lot of references to the "editorial pages" of the Washington Post and the New York Times this week.

Also notice how he cut the legs out from under Gov. Tim Kaine who was on the show earlier and is on Obama's short list for Vice-President. He essentially said that if Obama picks Kaine it will be purely a political move.

The fact that this bloated pig-faced bastard is even on my TeeVee on a Sunday morning instead of a jail cell is beyond me.

I just watched John McCain deliver a speach for the Urban League in Fla. Afterwords during the question and answer period when asked about high gas prices he said (and I am paraphrasing here) , " I was just in California and had a meeting with the oil executives and they told me that with off-shore drilling they can get the oil they need into the pipeline to get us off of foreign oil. The price of oil and gasoline will fall very rapidly."

Here is my question. What would be the oil companies incentive to deliver this oil if it is going to drop the price? Why would any company want to make less money? For the public good? Please.

McCain: In the Tank for Big Oil.

Been Busy...

I haven't posted in a while. Lots of stuff going on. My son-in-law got a new job in Cabot, Arkansas which is about 20 miles from Little Rock. He has already moved himself, their household and dogs. My daughter and grandchildren are living with us until she transfers to her new job on August 1st.

My mother-in-law passed away last week. She went into the hospital on a Sunday. We were told that the diagnosis was cancer on Monday. By 5:30 Wednesday morning she was gone. She was 82.

You know, you go about your life thinking everything is in it's place and all is right in your world, then...everything changes.

Here's A Thought

Some of the poorest people I have known are rich people.

John McCain

-I may not be able to get you to vote FOR me, but I will make damn sure you'll vote against the other guy.

That's all McCain's campain has to offer to the American people.

The Right Wing Hissy Fit Begins...

I watched retired Gen. Wes Clark on Face the Nation yesterday. When he said "I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president" I knew the chattering masses were going for the fainting couch clutching their pearls.

The main stream media has got to get over their mancrush with McCain. How exactly does getting shot down over Vietnam and held captive automatically make you ready to lead this country? I give him is due as far as being a combat veteran. But that is all I give him. Maveric my ass.

What Kind Of Milage You Get With That?

It's going on a month now since I started riding my bike to work. It has only been a mild inconvenience. It seems the benefits outweigh those.

I have been thinking about the price of gas, like most folks. People have come to the conclusion that even if the price moderates or comes down some, it will not ever get back down below $2 a gallon. It seems we as Americans never learn. We are pretty much in the same predicament we were in in the early '70s. Everyone is looking at fuel mileage, buying smaller cars, etc. Sure there are new cars that get good mileage or Hybrids or whatever. But that is just another market the car manufactures are going to exploit. Not everyone can just go out and buy a new car. What about all the cars out there already? Do we just abandon them? If they are already paid for you can at least be able to afford to put gas into them. And that's a lot of the problem with most people. They are paying (probably) a large car payment plus insurance on top of the fuel costs.

At least my two cars are paid for.

Tim Russert Dead At 58

This is just so sad. I feel that I have grown to know him over the years I have watched him on Meet The Press also with his political analysis on NBC News and on MSNBC.

Did he piss me off and want to throw something at the TeeVee? Yes! But I always thought he said what he believed.

I will miss him.

I'm Glad The Saudis Are On Top It...

This is so funny to me.

I just know they are so upset about these oil prices.

First Bicycle Problem

I got a flat tire about half way to work this morning. I had to do the "walk of shame" back to the house pushing the bike along the way. But it was only a 1/2 mile walk. I then got on the old Raleigh mountain bike and it was on the road again.

I have read about inserts you can add in between the tire and the tube to help prevent punctures. Since the road bike has such narrow tires that looks like the thing to do.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I give you the next President of the United States of America

I Own The Military

Here is our illustrious leader bumpin' chests with a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Acadamy. How demeaning for a President of the United States. You might say it's all in fun, but the leader of the free world should not be seen playing grab-ass with anyone. This just proves that he is and always will be that frat boy at Yale.

Funny how you only see him with a military audience. That's because he knows the men and women in the military cannot say or do anything that can be considered disrespectful of their Commander-In-Chief. They are in essence a captured audience. They are his to do as he pleases.

January 20th cannot come soon enough for me.

Bike Update

I got the new bike all tweaked and ready to roll. I took the straps off of the pedals and tossed them. They were just an accident waiting to happen. Who want's to be tied to a bicycle if you take a tumble? I've ordered some plain old nylon replacements.

Going from a mountain to a road bike is taking some getting used to. It's a lot lighter and with the narrow tires it will fly! But some things are different. Like looking back to check traffic. When I was riding the mountain bike looking back was easy since I was sitting straight up. On the new bike I'm all hunched over so when I look back I have a tendancy to swerve a bit. I'm sure I will get used to it.

Bicycle Post

I have been riding my bicycle to work for a couple of reasons. One is the price of gas. The other is that my son hit a deer with his pickup truck and it is in the shop. He has a 25 mile commute to work and I am only 5 minutes away from mine.

The weather is nice also, so why not?

I am currently riding a Raleigh mountain bike I bought several years ago from a friend who used it for his main mode of transportation for a year. There are a lot of miles on this bike. It is very tired. I hear lots of clicks, creaks and groans as I pedal it down the road. It gets me where I am going but it is time to retire it until I can give it an overhaul.

Since my birthday is in June, I ordered myself a new road bike. I received it yesterday. I got it put together but I still need to do some more adjusting and tweeking to get it road ready. The only problem I have with it is it came with pedals with straps on them. I don't know how to use them. I mean how do you get up on the bike and get your feet into these stirrups at the same time? And then how do you get your foot out of one of them when you have to come to a stop?
I'll brobably just replace them with good old-fashioned flat pedals.

I'll keep you posted with my progress with this bike.

Good Morning!

As I watched the cable news channels this morning I noticed that everyone is looking for Clinton to win the West Virginia primary tomorrow with a 15 to 20 point margin. Then she will gracefully withdraw from the race for president on a high note.

Nothing could be further from the truth! With a win that lop sided she and her campaign will use that win to beat Obama over the head. Then go after every superdelegate she can get her hands on to say "see, he can't win the white vote. I am your only hope for the fall election against McCain."

Never turn your back on a Clinton...They will screw you every chance they get.

Can We Get This Thing Going Now?

John Cole sits at his keyboard at 6 am and writes this.

Now is the time to get this campaign going in earnest. Make 'em all pay!

Yahoo!

There was a time when vendors would bring all kinds of goodies to get your business. I have a closet full of T-shirts and ball caps if you don't believe me. Most of that has fallen by the way-side, giving way to email and online pestering.

But with the downturn in the economy I have found that I have been getting lots of cold calls from vendors trying to once again get my business.

Sometimes this can be fun. Like today. I received in the mail a package from Yahoo!. In it was a large plastic push button like that "Easy Button" in the Office Depot commercials. When you push it the signature "Yahoo!" sound comes out. Very loudly.

Of course I had to play it over the intercom system at work. Fun Fun...

There On Him Like White On Wright

The MSM has decided that Obama has to be brought down a peg and are looking for any excuse. You know you have to keep that "boy" in his place.

I am with John Cole on this.

Will Nightmare of the Bush Administration Ever End?

Read Chris Floyd. Our 4th Estate is so corrupt.

Surge, Purge, Pause...

I've been wanting to write something about the Congressional hearings concerning the Surge in Iraq. But Silent Patriot said what I wanted to convey: (emphasis mine)

The “debate” over the surge has always perplexed me. We can all acknowledge that violence has mainly decreased. One doesn’t need a masters degree in foreign affairs to know that flooding more troops in would help cause that. The real issue is whether (a) the levels are sustainable — they’re not — and (b) whether the “surge” has achieved the intended result of providing the Iraqi government the breathing room needed to make the essential political progress — it hasn’t. Furthermore, the relative decrease in violence has just as much to do with troop levels as it does with ethnic cleansing, physical separation of varying sects, millions of Iraqi refugees, and millions of dollars in bribe money being doled out. By every meaningful measure, the surge has been a failure, providing breathing room only to President Bush so that he can pass along the disaster he started to the next President. Then again, that was probably the goal all along.

Walkin' To New Orleans

The lovely Mrs. Bobbob and I spent last weekend in New Orleans. I had visited New Orleans about 33 years ago (don't remember much about it)and my wife has never been there. Had a great time. If you have been apprehensive about going there after Katrina, don't be. Go.

I heard somewhere that a visit to New Orleans rearranges your DNA. I believe that is true. We are planning another trip as soon as possible.

Barack

I am an unabashed supporter of Barack Obama for President. I could not wait to vote for him in the primary election here. He will make a very good President. He is the tonic this country needs after 8 years of the "W".

But ever since his victory here in the Magnolia state I noticed something coming out of media that I had not noticed before our primary. The MSM kept throwing up the graphic that Obama had won 91% of the African-American vote. All of a sudden everyone took notice that "the niggers are voting for Obama. OMG! Obama's black!" You knew right away what was going to happen. From Geraldene Fararow to the Rev. Wright controversy the knives have come out for Obama. His speach yesterday was brillant but it was for the grownups and here in the South grownups are in short supply.

Such Is The State Of Healthcare In This Country

My son served in Iraq as a Marine back in 2005. He was discharged at his EAOS in 2006. He is going to college on the GI bill. And he has no health insurance.

He has had a sinus infection going on a number of weeks. I asked him why he hasn't gone to the doctor. "Costs too much" he said. Since he has no health insurance he has a few options:

1. Go to the emergency room at the local hospital
2. Go to the VA which is 50 miles away
3. Go to the doctor and pay full price for the visit + Rx

A person should not have to be afraid of how much a doctor visit will cost.

Willing To Let An X-Box Control Your Car?

I saw a commercial the other day for cars that have the "SYNC" system installed in them.

Then the voiceover made the horrific statement that it was "Powered BY Microsoft!"

I don't know how much of your vehicle will be controlled by this system. But it scares me to think that a glorified X-Box runs my car.

Oh, Goody

So the Prez and Congress have come together to screw the American people again.

An economic package that will give me a check for $1200.00 (I'm married).

How much is this going to cost me in the long run?

My children, my grandchildren, even my great-grandchildren will be paying for this for a long, long time.

I Was Just Looking For The Opportunity

The wife and I have been planning on "re-doing" our living room. We had put it off to get the holidays behind us and since we are well into the New Year and all of the decorations are put away there is no excuse to delay any longer. But I am by nature a procrastinator. The Carr family crest reads "Late, but in ernest".

Sunday I had to go into the attic to clean the heating unit's filter. My attic area is not floored but I have travased from rafter to rafter with the nimbleness of a trapeze artist for 20 years. That record was shattered when I miss-stepped and put my foot through the ceiling of our living room.

I guess that was the push I needed.

Active Directory Sucks Ass!

I guess I'm an old school Netware Administrator, but Microsoft's Active Directory is just God awful.

Glad That's Over

The Holiday Season is officially over! Trips to see relatives, trips to the store, eating and of course, drinking are done for year 2007. On to 2008!

IOWA...

No matter who wins the caucuses in Iowa, the MSM will tell us stupid folks in America what it all means. We too dumb to understand it. They want a horse race and they will work feverishly to make it happen.

Magic

The song "Magic" on Bruce Springsteen's new disc of the same name starts out as a magician showing his audience one trick after another. But as the song progresses Springsteen invokes a theme that runs throughout the current White House Administration. As Ron Suskind reported in his book "The One Percent Solution" an administration official was quoted as saying "we control the reality. When you think you know the reality, we change that reality...".

It's a magic act.

I see that ClearChannel is not promoting this record:
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/10/clear-channel-republican-propaganda.html

Please buy "Magic", you'll be glad you did!

I Love This Guy's Writing

Matt Taibbi is just laugh-out-loud funny. He has been covering the Republicans running for Prez of the U.S. of A. for Rolling Stone magazine. His stories are one of the main reasons I keep my subscription.


http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/16983679/mitt_romney_the_huckster

I Hear The Drums Of War

...again.

Yesterday our illustrious leader held a presser to tell us the Congress sucks and that if Iran even has the knowledge to build a nuclear weapon it'll be WWIII.

This morning Joe Scarborough had ex-chief of staff Andy Card on his Morning Joe show. You know, the architect of the Iraq war propaganda in 2002.

David Ignatius of the Washington Post in his column today plays on the fear of Al Qaeda getting a nuclear and/or biological weapon.

Al Qaeda = Terrorist ; Terrorist= Iran
Therefore: Al Queda = Iran

Simple, huh.

The Fear Card is in play Ladies and Gents.

Stay tuned.

Hear, Hear!

Fox News: We Distort You Decide:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/9/224358/287

The Road To Recovery

A few posts back I was complaining about not being able to smell. I went an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor who told me that I have polyps in both sinuses. Surgery was needed.

Yesterday I had that procedure. I am home taking it easy for a few days.

My only concern for the operation was having my nose packed while the healing takes place. But now the surgeon uses a plastic sleeve a little thicker than cellophane to hold against the nostril and allows me to breath. Isn't technology great!

Boy, Do They Get Their Panties In A Wad

The vote for censure in the Senate yesterday about an ad in a newspaper just shows what a bunch of cowards politicians are.

There are over 1 million Iraqis killed in this war of aggression and another 2 million displaced and all Congress can do is fan their faces and clutch their pearls over Moveon.org's full page ad in the New York Times?

I think the Republican Party should change their name to the Anti-Democrat Party. That is the only enemy they seem willing to fight because it is the only one they can win.

Faux Outrage

Just saw Nick (helmet-hair) Roberts from CNN report that President Bush was very upset about the infamous MoveOn.org ad in the New York Times reguarding General Petraeus.

Well, Boo-Hoo!

WASHINGTON, Sep 12 (IPS) - In sharp contrast to the lionisation of Gen. David Petraeus by members of the U.S. Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus's superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad last March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting.Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that", the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.

Is the general anything other than a political tool?

From the UK Independent ...
The US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, expressed long-term interest in running for the US presidency when he was stationed in Baghdad, according to a senior Iraqi official who knew him at that time.

Some Breathing Room

The so-called "Surge" was to give breathing room for the Iraqi government to get their act together.

After General Petraeu's testimony yesterday, the surge has only given political breathing room to President Bush.

All the sacrifice that our military has given since this operation was started was only to cover his ass.

God, I'm depressed.

I Could Not Have Said It Any Better Myself

I love this line from Joe Galloway at McClatchy Newspapers:

"the current struggle for the presidential nominations of the two major parties is going to produce only the two tallest midgets."

What Did You Do With The $75 Billion I Just Gave You?

President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, a White House official said yesterday, a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces.

My Head Spins

No matter how far down our president's approval rating goes, Congress' is always lower.

As Mark Twain said,"Congress, that grand benevolent asylum for the helpless..."

Much has been spun in the media about Congress' historically low ratings. The spin comes in when the low ratings are the fault of the Democratic majority. The talking heads in my TeeVee say it is because the legislative branch is spending too much time investigating and not passing legislation (doing the people's business they like to say).

This is false. We are pissed at Congress because they haven't done enough to stop our dear leader and his vice-president from gutting the Constitution, starting a war of aggression with a sovern country that did not attack us and are now in the midst of starting another war with Iran and/or Syria on no more pretext than the fact that they can.

Is there no person of integity who will stand up to these bullies? Or has this administration used it's power to spy on Americans to blackmail it's domestic and political enemies to keep them in check?

One has to wonder...

It's Dead Elvis Day

There will be some swoonin' going on at Graceland, but it won't be because it's the 30th anniversary of his death. It will be because it is going to be 106 degrees in Memphis today. The candlelight vigil begins at 8pm but fans start lining up at 6am.

What were you doing when you heard that Elvis had died? I was getting ready to go to my night shift job at Chromcraft Furniture. It was very hot that day too.

Can't You Smell The Coffee?

The answer is no, I cannot. I have lost my sense of smell.

I had a sinus infection a few months ago which went on for weeks before finally going to the doctor. I got a "sinus coctail" shot in my ass and a round of anti-biotics.

My head is clear now, but I cannot smell a damn thing. This can be a good thing as now my shit don't stink. At least to me. But if I step in dog poop in the yard I would like to know it before others ask me " Hey, do you smell dog shit?" And it would be a good thing to smell smoke if the house is burning.

Along with the loss of smell I get the added bonus that I now cannot taste anything. Nothing. It's very frustrating to sit at the table where everyone else is making yummy sounds while we are eating and to me it all tastes the same. Bland.

My world is a lot less wonderful now.

A Bad Moon Rising

I have been having really strange dreams of late. Not really nightmares just disturbing. The moon is waxing this July and I feel it is a bad moon rising.

I find it upsetting when I hear political pundits on the TeeVee say that a terrorist attack on America will get the President and the GOP back on top in the public's mind because they are so tough on "terror."

Now I read this:
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Oldline_Republican_warns_somethings_in_works_0719.html

It's not too difficult to imagine, is it?

David Brooks - Loves Him Some President Bush

I read the latest from the New York Time's David Brooks this morning in my local paper.

It's noon and I have just now stopped throwing up.

What a hack.

Well, Guess What

From Media Matters:

Conventional wisdom says that the American public is fundamentally conservative - hostile to government, in favor of unregulated markets, at peace with inequality, wanting a foreign policy based on the projection of military power, and traditional in its social values.

Read the report:
http://mediamatters.org/progmaj/report

Wanker

As a tribute to Atrios:

Why was Bill Bennett on my TeeVee this morning?

The Undead (Dick Cheney) Rise Again

Dick Cheney came to Capital Hill today to give what for to those uppity Democrats.

Who believes anything that lyin' piece o' shit says anyway?








Oh...Yea!

The Cash House Is Gone

John and June Cash's house burned to the groud.

I like the idea of it being gone than to think of Barry Gibb living there.

The Cash House burned down by Barry Fucking Gibb.

Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007

I read "Breakfast of Champions" at the urging of my girlfriend while I was in college. After that it was "Cat's Cradle", then "Slaughterhouse Five" and "The Sirens of Titan".

'nuf said.

Good Night, Kurt

Imus Be Goin'

I must confess that I have been a quasi-regular watcher of Imus in the Morning program since the run up to the war in Iraq. I became kind of intrigued by all the politicians, pundits and preachers that come on the show. But I could never figure out where the man was coming from.

But mostly I watched it so I could get good and pissed off to start my day. A lot of the time it was because of a remark that he makes. He really earned my wrath about 2 weeks ago when he made a snide comment about the Lucinda Williams a well known singer/songwriter. He said something like "boy, that Lucinda Williams looks like the kind of gal like that astronaut. You know who would drive across the country in a diaper and show up with a hammer and some rope...but I love her stuff"

Man, did I get hot! He didn't know her. How could he make such a statement? Well, it comes easy to him. He's mean.

Easter Sunday

Last Sunday was Easter. It was also my 30th wedding anniversary. My wife and I spent it cooking a large dinner for the family.

There are no doubt a lot of people out there who think that spending a milestone anniversary doing that would not be their way of celebrating. But I could not think of a better way to spend the day.

I Gots Me A New Computer

Just got a Dell Latitude D620 notebook computer. Me likey very much...

Well, I'm Back...

Haven't posted since the election in November. I was beginning a kitchen remodel that lasted until just before Christmas. Then the Holidays. Now that spring is here and decent in in the air I thought it would be a good time to start writing again. I don't think anyone reads this blog, but I need the practice.

I don't want to write only about politics, but up until now that is what was coming out every time I sat down to write. I will be writing about more personal things, friends, family, life here in Northwestern Misssissippi in general.

But, since yesterday was the 4th anniversary of the beginning of our little war in Iraq, I could not let it go by without posting the following from The Rude Pundit:

Bush the Perfunctory:
Four years, 3200+ dead, 24,000++ wounded, the fast track to a trillion dollars flushed down the shitter, the country begging for the exit strategy, and that's all the speech we get?Five minutes or less of "Fuck you, fuckers, we're staying and I don't give two sheep shits what anyone thinks. Oh, and Congress? Gimme the money, bitches." He might as well have come out in his pajamas, grunted, "Talking points 3, 27, and 105," and shuffled back to sleep, scratching his ass along the way. Then the reporters could have consulted their handy lists of talking points, downloadable to their PDAs, to see which lines they needed to repeat again and again.It was pretty much the same pattern as the last anniversary remarks: Bush told us who he talked to on the phone before saying how super-duper great the troops are. A little bit of 9/11 goodness thrown in for spice.A compassionate man might have offered moments of comfort and promises of better treatment to the abused wounded, a wise man might have at least made a stab at an explanation, but Bush is neither wise nor compassionate. He chose the perfunctory route - no one could accuse him of missing the anniversary, but no one would remember a word he said.Now the Rude Pundit's gonna celebrate four years of the Iraq war by downing Vietnamese food with a bottle of vodka from Belgrade.

Hail to the Chief....

Vote!

Everyone vote today. Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent. Exercise your right to vote. Bush left his polling place today and said that we have a privilege to vote. Wrong!We have the RIGHT to vote!

As for me, I voted this morning using a touch-screen Deibold machine. Went smoothly for me. But you have to wonder what is going on in that electronic box that holds your vote. Personally, I don't see why we just don't go back to a piece of paper and a ballot box. Not a punch card, not a levered voting booth, not an optical scanner. Just a piece of paper. Counted by people with other people watching those people, may be some people watching those people.

I just don't trust voting machines.

There Ain't Gonna Be No Election

With all of the bad news for Republicans we have seen this year and especially the last couple of months, I believe the October-November suprise will be the suspension of the election on November 7th.

Why do I believe that? Because the President will do anything to keep Congress from going to the Democratic Party. With subpoena power the majority party will hold hearings. Witnesses will be under oath as they brought before these committees.

Congress has been manipulated to get to this point in our nation's history. The final manipulation came with the passing of the Military Commissions Act. I would be willing to bet dollars to donuts that Rove and his minions promised all the incumbents that if they voted for this heinous legislation, the GOP would pull out all the stops to see they they are rewarded with re-election.

What other choice does the president have but to find a way to stop the election until he can be guaranteed a GOP lead Congress? His back is against the wall and he knows it.

It's all very scarry. But it is Halloween.

No One Can Stop Dear Leader

From Digby's Hullabaloo:

"The truth is that the United States government is presently holding, torturing, and even murdering countless numbers of people who have no chance in hell of obtaining a lawyer, let alone anything resembling a trial. The government is doing this under the direct orders of George W. Bush. There is no law, no bill, and no legislature who can stop him. If Congress were to pass a law unequivocably banning torture and send it to him, he'd use it for toilet paper. If the Supreme Court were to rule against Bush in the harshest and bluntest language, he'd yawn. The truth is that there is a rogue presidency and there has been, since January, 2001 (earlier, if you count the stolen election). Certainly, everyone in Washington knows it, but no one dares to admit it. The bill legalizing torture merely enables Congress to pretend they still have some influence over an executive that from day one was governing, not as if they had a mandate, but as if Bush was a dictator. If, for some miracle, the bill didn't pass, every congress-critter knows Bush would keep on torturing. Better to vote to pass and preserve the appearance of a working American government, the thinking goes. For the very thought that the US government is seriously broken - that the Executive is beyond the control of anyone and everyone in the world - is such a truly awesome and terrifying thought that it can never be publicly acknowledged. If ever it is, if the American crisis gets outed and Congress and the Supremes openly assert that the Executive has run completely amok and is beyond control, the world consequences are staggering. It is the stuff of doomsday novels. And this brings up the dilemma of a post Nov. 7 world. Apparently, one if not both houses of Congress may be controlled by Democrats. Now what? You think Bush is gonna get impeached? Put on trial for war crimes? Forget it. You think they're gonna repeal the pro-torture law they're about to pass? You can almost certainly forget that, too. Remember: it is crucial to maintain the illusion that Congress still has some say, as it was in November of 2002 about the Bush/Iraq war.If, for some reason, Congress does decide to move against Bush in some substantive way, there will be hell to pay. Those of us who well remember Watergate remember that while it was genuinely thrilling to have Nixon caught, disgraced, and removed, it was also a time of extreme tension. Would Nixon tough the impeachment trial out, causing the country incalculable harm? It looked for quite a long time that he would. About Bush, there is no doubt. Since the day after the 2000 election, Bush and his goons have been playing chicken with the very structure of the United States Government, double-daring anyone to try and stop them. If Congress does try - and I'm not talking little things like wrecking Social Security, that'll happen and a dictator can afford to let things like that wait a while, I'm talking atomic bang bang and thumbscrews - he will force the private Constitutional crisis into the open. And there is no guarantee that Bush will lose.And that is the truth. The Congress has been given an awful choice: Vote to approve torture and the suspension of habeas or show the world that yes, you really do have no genuine power to check Bush. Of course, all of Congress should vote against the bill anyway. But they won't. And to themselves, they will justify the vote as saying they made a hard choice but made the best one they could for their country. Me, well...I've gone on record numerous times about how much I dread radicalism and serious national crises (which are two reasons Bush scares the hell out of me). The prospect of an open Constitutional confrontation, Bush vs. the Congress plus the Supremes...Jesus Christ. Perhaps I should understand the Congress had no real choice?Absolutely not. The time truly is long overdue where there simply is no choice but to say "enough." It should have been enough over the stolen election, or the neglect that led to 9/11, or Schiavo, or the filibuster.* But voting to permit the US government to sidestep Geneva? To suspend habeas? What the fuck is Congress thinking, for crissakes??? Has fascism moved so slowly that only a few bloggers can perceive the inevitable progression? I don't think so.There's no question about it. Any person in Congress who votes for this - listening, Hillary? - will never get my vote again. Ever, not even for dogcatcher, let alone president. If there is going to be a public Constitutional crisis over Bush's rogue presidency - and there will be sooner or later, guaranteed - bring it on now."

Nuke 'Em

I believe that President Bush is going to use tactical nukes on Iran. At first I thought this was just crazy talk. But now I think our president is crazy. He wants to attack Iran, but we don't have the troops on station to do it. Nuking them is a cost effective way of doing it.

I can't believe anyone, let alone the President of the United States, would ever consider this option. But when I read that Bush told conservative reporters in the Oval Office that he sees a "third awakening" on the horizon, I started to shit my pants.

This is what I want everyone who reads this to do: Write your local newspaper editor, your mayor, your congressman, your senator and anyone else you can think of. Tell them that you have every reason to believe that President Bush is going to use nuclear weapons! Get the message out there. Let everyone know that we know what this administration is up to and that we, the people of the United States, are not going to stand for it.

We have to stop this mad man before it's too late.

Here's a New Perspective

I have to agree with the writer.

I'm sick of the pussy GOP.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/14/65537/7743

The Honest Truth

For the life of me I cannot fathom why 30% of this country still thinks our President is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

EVERYTHING GEORGE W. BUSH TOUCHES TURNS TO SHIT!!!!!

Always has, always will.

You would think he would have grown into the job after being in it for 6 years, but he has not. As a matter of fact, you can tell that from his statement yesterday reguarding the foiled airline plot. It was a half-hearted attempt to express the dangers that lay before us. Blah, blah, blah, al Qaeda, blah, blah, blah, 9/11, blah blah... Just let me get this out so I can get back to my fundraising, my vacation and my bicycle.

Please, leave him in Crawford. Keep him sequestered. I'm sure he wouldn't mind sitting the rest of his term out at the house.

I'm Afraid Billmon is Right

I haven't blogged in quite a while. Health problems in the family. But I had to post this from Billmon concerning the mid-term elections and I have the sickening feeling he is right.

"More and more, I've come to believe the Dems are insane for even wanting a share of the responsibility for running this out-of-control madhouse of a country. It's like being invited to grab hold of a downed high-voltage power line.

So here's my confession: At this point I really don't give a flying fuck whether the Democrats take the House or the Senate back. No, wait, that's not true. The truth is I hope they don't. It wouldn't save us from what's coming down the road, in the Middle East and elsewhere. It wouldn't force President Psychopath to change course or seek therapy. But it would make sure that the "left" (ha ha ha) gets more than its fair share of blame for the approaching debacle.
That may well be the natural role of the Democratic Party in our one-and-a-half party system, but I don't want any part of it any more. Which means that when I say it's a bad sign (consensus opinion always being wrong) that Charlie Cook now thinks the Republicans are likely to lose their House and/or Senate majorities in November, I just mean that it's a bad sign for the Democratic Party and its professional hangers on.For the rest of us, and for whatever is left of this country's soul, it doesn't really matter. We've already lost."

Read this and other posts: http://www.billmon.org/

Another Photo-Op For Prez

I haven't posted in a while and there is so much going on in the world of politics. Karl Rove looks to have escaped the noose of the Special Procecuter, the king of terror in Iraq has been killed and President Bush snuck into Baghdad for a meet and greet with the Prime Minister.

Does it mean that G.W. is finally putting his nose to the grind stone to get this ugly mess of his fixed? I doubt it. It is only for political expediancy that this president is doing anything that relates to his job. You know, he's a campainer. That's all he knows how to do. He can't govern worth spit.

If photo-ops could get the problems of this country fixed, we'd all be shittin' in high cotton.

Karl Rove is a Dummy

I don't agree with everything Andrew Sullivan writes ,but I always consider most of it a friendly difference of opinion.

On this point he is oh, so right:

http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/05/how_stupid_is_k.html

A Must Read

Everyone should read Glenn Greenwald's blog. He always seems to nail it down on whatever subject.

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/