Cheney admits he is Vader
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Big Fucking Suprise
Blackwater mercenaries were given immunity then the Bureau chief that granted the immunity resigned. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071029/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/blackwater_prosecutions;_ylt=Any.9RWFPosL3cLI232zfLADW7oF
Free the West Memphis 3
New DNA evidence
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2007/10/evangelical-leaders-meet-with.php
The Website for the nonprofit org working to save the boys.
www.wm3.org
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2007/10/evangelical-leaders-meet-with.php
The Website for the nonprofit org working to save the boys.
www.wm3.org
The Sky is Falling
First, These people dont deserve a special meeting with the Secretary of State, anymore than a random grouping of 6 citizens, or worse 6 corporate execs. The heads of government should not be having listening sessions where they allow special religious intrests air their opinions on non-religous issues. I know they think its a religious issue but thats the problem. There are enough people in the administration that think they need to bring on the rapture and the end of the world. Remember, in these peoples minds the end of the world is a good thing. It gets them to God faster.
Election Reform
I just want to point out an issue that is only tangentally related to this article. Election reform is a real issue. The Republican party in Ohio was found guilty of interfearing with the last presidential election. And Ohio being the key state you would think that would have brought the results into question. As usual noone payed it any mind. The Republicans are mindfull that there is at least nominal public outcry for reform of the electoral process after indecision 2000. Its even been suggested the UN observe our elections like would be done in some african dictatorship, which is a tremendous embarassment for the country that is supposed to lead the free world.
The Republican solution is of the type of double speak we have come to expect from the Red Side in the last 7 years. They move to replace old outmoaded vote counting processes with newer severely insecure voting machines. (the manufacturer of which is a heavy donor to the Republican party) They call this effort to make the voting process less transparent and more prone to interfearence "reform." Thats one type of double speak.
At the same time they also persue voter fraud through the "real ID" program and state laws requiring one present an ID when showing up to vote. This cuts down on the numbers of elderly, poor, and minoritys who vote. They just happen to mostly vote Democratic.
http://www.mlive.com/elections/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1193669477242340.xml&coll=5
Also, actual voter fraud that can be countered by requiring an ID, like a single person voting more than once, or people voting multiple times as different people, tends to favor Democrats. This was an issue during the Justice Department firings of 8 US Attorneys. The US Attorneys were instructed to persue Democrats involved in this type of voter fraud, 8 refused the improper interferance and were terminated. But noone cares about the intracacies of justice, its not sexy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/nyregion/29real.html
The Republican solution is of the type of double speak we have come to expect from the Red Side in the last 7 years. They move to replace old outmoaded vote counting processes with newer severely insecure voting machines. (the manufacturer of which is a heavy donor to the Republican party) They call this effort to make the voting process less transparent and more prone to interfearence "reform." Thats one type of double speak.
At the same time they also persue voter fraud through the "real ID" program and state laws requiring one present an ID when showing up to vote. This cuts down on the numbers of elderly, poor, and minoritys who vote. They just happen to mostly vote Democratic.
http://www.mlive.com/elections/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1193669477242340.xml&coll=5
Also, actual voter fraud that can be countered by requiring an ID, like a single person voting more than once, or people voting multiple times as different people, tends to favor Democrats. This was an issue during the Justice Department firings of 8 US Attorneys. The US Attorneys were instructed to persue Democrats involved in this type of voter fraud, 8 refused the improper interferance and were terminated. But noone cares about the intracacies of justice, its not sexy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/nyregion/29real.html
The walk of shame
A FEMA official was fired over the fake reporters during the California Fires scandal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2955777020071030
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2955777020071030
Its Time to Turn on the Baby Boomers
After all they are to blame for everything that is wrong with the world today. What happened? After Vietnam, civil rights, and Roe v. Wade, they decided to just take a 30 year nap? Have they been drugging themselves into apathy with comfort, big screen TVs, SUVs , and Hagar slacks? What the fuck happened to the hippies? Did they all just get jobs, have kids, and become so mypoic theydidnt see the big picture? Did assassinating all the leaders on the left really do the trick?
I can understand that after such a vocal outpoaring of liberalism, the perverbial pendulum would swing back to the right. But its never swung back. The right had their return to conservatism thanks to the selfish people who fear progress and true individual freedom. They then grabbed hold of the conciousness of America and dragged us all further and further right, and they were the ones doing the kicking and screaming.
You might object and point out that Clinton was a Democrat. My responce is to laugh derisively. Clinton was, and the Democrats that emulate him are, much like Joseph Liberman, Republicans in Democrats clothing. They are still elitiests that pander to business and pay lip service to social issues like poverty and healthcare. Besides Clinton was a leader. He was a brillient public speaker and was charismatic. When he went away we were left with a bunch of unelectable Bob Doles in the Democratic side.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I dont hate the Democrats because they failed, I hate them because they failed against such an inept enemy. I hate them because they dont represent an actual alternative.
I can understand that after such a vocal outpoaring of liberalism, the perverbial pendulum would swing back to the right. But its never swung back. The right had their return to conservatism thanks to the selfish people who fear progress and true individual freedom. They then grabbed hold of the conciousness of America and dragged us all further and further right, and they were the ones doing the kicking and screaming.
You might object and point out that Clinton was a Democrat. My responce is to laugh derisively. Clinton was, and the Democrats that emulate him are, much like Joseph Liberman, Republicans in Democrats clothing. They are still elitiests that pander to business and pay lip service to social issues like poverty and healthcare. Besides Clinton was a leader. He was a brillient public speaker and was charismatic. When he went away we were left with a bunch of unelectable Bob Doles in the Democratic side.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I dont hate the Democrats because they failed, I hate them because they failed against such an inept enemy. I hate them because they dont represent an actual alternative.
Swept Under the Rug Monday: The Wyrm Eats Its Tail
Over the course of the Bush administration, there have been many famous cases of personnel management, such as the case of Valerie Plame. However, there has also been pretty severe staffing problems. Readers may remember, this Oct. 14th story in the New York Times about issues at the "Level I" level, but the problem goes much deeper than that. In the course of politicizing every political appointment in the federal bureaucracy, the Bush administration has pushed or otherwise drove highly qualified people from career positions in the various departments. From the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, to the State Department's Foreign Service Corps, from the Transportation Department's Transportation Security Officers (and the Homeland Security Department's Procurement staff), to Patent and Trademark Office's examination workforce, there is a common story of staffing problems. There is a recurrent question in recent times about whether the U.S. can survive the Bush administration, but I think the real question is whether the Bush administration can sustain itself in the one year, two months, and twenty two days that it can legally retain its authority.
In addition to driving down the unemployment rate in the greater Washington metropolitan area, this phenomenon has combined with another alarming trend in the Bush administration, that of over-classification (and more) and retroactive classification, a trend that supposedly found its origin in 9/11. Because of the volume of classified material and the resultant increase in demand for clearances, there is a backlog for security clearances that could force wait times to be most easily measured in months or years. If positions requiring security clearances are being filled by less than the best, it might explain why the Bush administration's approaches to sensitive intelligence work range from the illegal to the dysfunctional.
And the punch line is that the DHS can't properly comply with the Vacancies Reform Act.
In addition to driving down the unemployment rate in the greater Washington metropolitan area, this phenomenon has combined with another alarming trend in the Bush administration, that of over-classification (and more) and retroactive classification, a trend that supposedly found its origin in 9/11. Because of the volume of classified material and the resultant increase in demand for clearances, there is a backlog for security clearances that could force wait times to be most easily measured in months or years. If positions requiring security clearances are being filled by less than the best, it might explain why the Bush administration's approaches to sensitive intelligence work range from the illegal to the dysfunctional.
And the punch line is that the DHS can't properly comply with the Vacancies Reform Act.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Walk of Shame
Missed the boat on this one but I gotta fill some space. Larry Craig trying to weazel out of his "Wide Stance."
It sure does seem like there are alot of republicans who made it a major part of their political career to crusade against the gays, that turn out to be gay.
President of Oral Roberst resignes.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/10/oral-roberts-pr.html
Drunken Republicans
Friday, October 26, 2007
FEMA impersonates Journalists
FEMA has been caught sending its own staffers to impersonate members of the media to lob softball questions during press conferences. Lest we forgit, the Bush administration has been caught doing something like this before when it was discovered that a member of the Whitehouse press corps was actually working for a "news source" that was funded by a wing of the Republican party. That and their press secretary for the last year or so has been former Fox News man Tony Snow.
This brings up two of the major problems I have with the current situation. I cant blame the administration because we (by which I mean YOU) are letting them get away with blatant wrongdoing. They keep using the same tricks over and over and never face any consequences because they refuse to cooperate with anyone who would impose any consequences on their malfeasence. The part that makes me spit with rage is that, that very refusal is the end of any discussion of punishment or wrongdoing. Noone holds their feet to the fire and wnenever they try or the suggestion comes up the Democrats fold and slink away with their tails between their legs.
The horribly sad thing is that the Democrats seem to be week because they are leaderless, which suggest to me that they dont actually have anything to offer once you get past whatever charismatic mask they slap on the front of the monster.
I hate them because they are such failures against such a guileless foe.
This brings up two of the major problems I have with the current situation. I cant blame the administration because we (by which I mean YOU) are letting them get away with blatant wrongdoing. They keep using the same tricks over and over and never face any consequences because they refuse to cooperate with anyone who would impose any consequences on their malfeasence. The part that makes me spit with rage is that, that very refusal is the end of any discussion of punishment or wrongdoing. Noone holds their feet to the fire and wnenever they try or the suggestion comes up the Democrats fold and slink away with their tails between their legs.
The horribly sad thing is that the Democrats seem to be week because they are leaderless, which suggest to me that they dont actually have anything to offer once you get past whatever charismatic mask they slap on the front of the monster.
I hate them because they are such failures against such a guileless foe.
You Were Wrong to Taze That Guy, Bro
According to Chap. 776.05 (1) of Florida Statute, an officer is empowered to use force "Which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or herself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest." Just in case you may be wondering how this rule and the rest of this section of Florida Law is applied practically by the cops on the street, there are policies governing the proper use of tazers by Florida Law Enforcement Officials, in such places as Orange County, Miami, and Leon County. According to all of these policies, officers must use an increasing use of force matrix to address the threat, starting with a physical presence (Level 1) up to use of firearms (Level 6). In the middle, at Level 4 is deployment of ECD or tazer.
Without having seen an actual copy of the report issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, I would have to say that this entire affair is a bit of a white wash. From the number of officers and the lack of meaningful escalation on the part of the six or seven deputies that were surrounding Mr. Meyer at the time of the incident, it is reasonable to assume that the aforementioned deputies were not familiar with the proper techniques in deploying tazer and should be held criminally and civilly liable for the harm to Mr. Meyer's person and reputation. For instance, the aforementioned policy of Miami, "A single act of non-compliance shall not justify the use of a tazer weapon." Furthermore, the use of a tazer is only authorized if the subject is continuing to resist, not like Mr. Meyer who expressed a willingness to cooperate with law enforcement officials at the time of his arrest. ( See the Sept. 20 posting, Tazers: Tool or Crutch? )
In the case of Graham vs. Conner. 490 US 386 (1989), the court determined that reasonable use of force is governed by the Fourth Amendment's objective reasonableness standard. To summarize, when considering the reasonableness of a particular instance of the use of force the court should make allowances for the implicit use of force suggested by the arrest powers of law enforcement officials and their need to react to tense and uncertain situations. However, the court should primarily address the following: the severity of the crime, the danger posed by the suspect to himself and others, and any attempt to resist arrest or flight. In the particular case of Mr. Meyer, it is apparent that asking a question of an elected official does not, in and of itself, constitute grounds to deploy a tazer against a suspect. The officers on the scene, by virtue of their numbers, should have been able to restrain Mr. Meyer without having to resort to an escalated use of force. Also, at no time did Mr. Meyer ever do anything to flee the scene or resist the arresting officers. Which brings us back to the remaining justification, the danger presented by the subject to himself and others. Is this really the justification of the use of force on Mr. Meyer?
Was his question so dangerous that it required deployment of a tazer in such an arbitrary and capricious manner? Anyone who values not living in a fascist police state should care about this case and its ramifications for the rest of us.
Without having seen an actual copy of the report issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, I would have to say that this entire affair is a bit of a white wash. From the number of officers and the lack of meaningful escalation on the part of the six or seven deputies that were surrounding Mr. Meyer at the time of the incident, it is reasonable to assume that the aforementioned deputies were not familiar with the proper techniques in deploying tazer and should be held criminally and civilly liable for the harm to Mr. Meyer's person and reputation. For instance, the aforementioned policy of Miami, "A single act of non-compliance shall not justify the use of a tazer weapon." Furthermore, the use of a tazer is only authorized if the subject is continuing to resist, not like Mr. Meyer who expressed a willingness to cooperate with law enforcement officials at the time of his arrest. ( See the Sept. 20 posting, Tazers: Tool or Crutch? )
In the case of Graham vs. Conner. 490 US 386 (1989), the court determined that reasonable use of force is governed by the Fourth Amendment's objective reasonableness standard. To summarize, when considering the reasonableness of a particular instance of the use of force the court should make allowances for the implicit use of force suggested by the arrest powers of law enforcement officials and their need to react to tense and uncertain situations. However, the court should primarily address the following: the severity of the crime, the danger posed by the suspect to himself and others, and any attempt to resist arrest or flight. In the particular case of Mr. Meyer, it is apparent that asking a question of an elected official does not, in and of itself, constitute grounds to deploy a tazer against a suspect. The officers on the scene, by virtue of their numbers, should have been able to restrain Mr. Meyer without having to resort to an escalated use of force. Also, at no time did Mr. Meyer ever do anything to flee the scene or resist the arresting officers. Which brings us back to the remaining justification, the danger presented by the subject to himself and others. Is this really the justification of the use of force on Mr. Meyer?
Was his question so dangerous that it required deployment of a tazer in such an arbitrary and capricious manner? Anyone who values not living in a fascist police state should care about this case and its ramifications for the rest of us.
You were right to taze that guy bro.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21454383/
Police investigation clears plolice officer of any wrongdoing in the case of tazing the unruly conspiracy theorist who was herrassing John Kerry.
Police investigation clears plolice officer of any wrongdoing in the case of tazing the unruly conspiracy theorist who was herrassing John Kerry.
The Evils of Christianity, I mean Halloween
Usually when the religious brainwashing of children reaches this level most people can start to see that this is sinister. Unfortunately it takes a massive overreaction to good simple childrens fun and games for people to even recognise there is a problem. This in turn causes the reaction to the problem of Christian zealotry to be smaller than is reasonable.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
One third are guranteed to be wrong
More evidence that about 30% if people are ignorant, foolish, irrational, or wrong.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7024838,00.html
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005530
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7024838,00.html
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005530
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Big Suprise
So Comcast was billing the government for the surveilance of our calls. This means we were getting screwed twice by them. Once when they take our freedoms and rights away illegally. And again when they bill us for it. Remember, when the government fucks you in the asshole they are also robbing you for the privlege.
Politicization of every level of government
This is another example of what I have been talking aobut with the Bush Administration politicizing every department. Like with the FDA and EPA they take the CDC and eliminate any science that disagrees with the conclusions they have already reached politically. The big suprise, global warming will make us sicker.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/ap_on_go_ot/global_warming_health_17;_ylt=AiQzcA183fh7UCjeq9DzecsE1vAI
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/ap_on_go_ot/global_warming_health_17;_ylt=AiQzcA183fh7UCjeq9DzecsE1vAI
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Happy Birthday Planet Earth
Aparently not only can fundamentalist Christians state the age of the Earth based on a bizarre, but literal, interpretation of the Bible. But they can state the age with such certainty they know the earth was created today.
Mull that over for a minute...
Ok. It took 6 days to create the earth didnt it? Or if you rely on the "other" creation story for your literal interpretation of the Bible it was created all at once. This points out two(2) problems with a "literal" interpretation of the Bible.
One(1), a literal interpretation of the Bible is necessairly an oxymoron. The Bible directly contradicts itself factually and theologically in ways that cannot be reconsiled if you believe it is the literal word of God. The only way to get over this is to impose an interpretation on the words that is something other than literal. However it is possible to be intellictually lazy and not even notice this problem exists. Or, if you are aware of it, you can take advantage of the fact that most people are not sufficently familar with the Bible to call you on it. Especially people who claim to believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.
Issue two(2), is raised by the first. Who's interpretation do you use? What are the consequences of the answer to the prior question if you believe this should be a "Christian Nation"? One of the reasons the founding fathers concieved of the seperation of church and state was that prior to the founding of the nation there were arguments over whos brand of Christianity was taught in the schools. Remember the early colonists came from a land of religious opression and where people killed each other over the difference between Catholics and Protestants.
Boyscouts are heros
Boyscouts rescue an injured hiker by building a stretcher from scratch and carrying her 3 miles to safety.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303957,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303957,00.html
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