6/29/2007:   Hillary Clinton just lost my vote. I had some qualms up until now with her "play it safe, less is more" strategy when answering the hard questions that might make her seem less than in touch with the progressives in this country. But Lou Dobbs, God bless him, held up for public scrutiny the worst thing she has done in her entire career. He played excerpts from her speech to a group of Silicon Valley CEOs. You can find it on YouTube.

"I am reaffirming my commitment to the H1B visa and increasing the current cap."

My jaw dropped.

"Y'know, let's just face the fact that foreign skilled workers contribute greatly to doing what we have to do to be innovators."

More betrayal with every word. The allotment of 65000 H1B visas was snapped up in a single day this year, but the truth is, with loopholes and lax H1B enforcement, 128000+ foreign workers were employed via H1B visas. That's 128000 jobs that gave foreign workers experience, increased skills, and paychecks. 128000 jobs that the 186000 tech workers that applied for those jobs didn't get. A higher percentage than ever making 20%-80% of what a domestic worker would make, thus depressing the payscale so that domestic workers that do manage to get a job in the industry end up making less.

Mrs. Clinton went on to make noise about better education, giving science students and high tech workers greater respect, and making high tech and science seem more "sexy" to college entrants. She implicitly refused to acknowledge that those same college students would have no jobs to go into once they graduated, but that didn't seem to bother her any.

And so, Barrack Obama has my vote. For now. Unless Mrs. Clinton would like to address the disparity between her views and the middle class' needs in a way that makes it clear that usage of the H1B visa program will be modified as follows:

Mrs. Clinton should be ashamed of herself. She's certainly no Bill Clinton.

I've like Barrack all along, and I think it's time I put my vote behind him. For now.

6/26/2007:   Illinois Democratic Representative Rahm Emanuel, Real Man and sponsor of an amendment to the annual spending bill to cut off Cheney's Senate paycheck, noted that five years ago Cheney claimed executive privilege in refusing to release details about his meetings with oil industry executives to discuss energy policy. "Now when we want to know what he's doing as it relates to America's national security in the lead-up to the war in Iraq and after the fact, the vice president has declared he is a member of the legislative branch." Therefore, Emanuel said, "we will no longer fund the executive branch of his office and he can live off the funding for the Senate presidency."

Every time I reread that passage, I crack up. Man, that's BEAUTIFUL! It doesn't really affect Cheney -- he's a multi-millionaire through his association with Halliburton -- but it's a really fantastic middle-finger gesture, a slap back, and nicely done at that.

6/26/2007:   Dick Cheney, to avoid turning over documents to Congress as part of an investigation of the executive branch, has decided to redefine the office of Vice President as a legislative branch position.

Yeah, I know. I'm just shaking my head, too.

So let's review, shall we? Article II of the Constitution defines the President and Vice President as executive officers. Section 1.1, 1.3, and 1.6 of Article II specifically mention the Vice President. Section 4 covers removal of the President and Vice President through impeachment. The 12th Amendment redefines the election process for President and Vice President. The 20th Amendment defines the elective term for the President and Vice President. The 25th Amendment further details the line of succession to the Presidency, starting with the Vice President as the Acting President.

At no point in the Constitution or Amendents does it say anything about the VP's salary. At every point it assumes that the Vice President is an executive branch office, second to the President in power and authority, elected in the same manner as the President, and the first in line of succession should the President become unable to serve.

6/26/2007:   I saw a web page that polled readers on the following question: "Should Rep. Dennis Kucinich Introduce Articles of Impeachment Against Bush to Stop War in IRAN?" And for a moment I thought, well of course! ANY reason for impeachment, at this point, is good enough for me!

And then I got to thinking about it and thought, no, he shouldn't. Because it would be for the wrong reason. We shouldn't impeach to stop an impending war. While, depending on the president's stated reasons (or lack thereof), impeachment to stop a war might certainly be noble, but it's not a high crime or misdemeanor for the president to take us into a legally authorized war or emergency military action. In fact, that is well within that office's constitutional mandates.

Mr. Kucinich should impeach Bush for lying to Congress regarding Iraq's possession of WMDs, for lying to Congress about the wiretapping program, for complicity in defrauding the 2000 and 2004 elections, for obstruction of justice in turning over documents requested by Congressional investigative bodies, etc. Mr. Kucinich should attempt to enforce the law as regards the president. He should push forward to set precedents where they are needed, now and in the future.

6/25/2007:   The following timeline was provided by an informative gentleman posting to YouTube:

Mar 1963: Cheney receives 1st student deferment from Viet Nam
July 63: 2nd student deferment
Oct 64: 3rd student deferment
May 65: Graduates college with 1-A draft status
July 65: Johnson doubles number of men drafted
Nov 65: Cheney receives 4th deferment from Nam
Oct 65: Ban lifted on drafting married men without children
Jan 66: His wife is 10 weeks pregnant. Cheney receives "hardship" exemption excluding men with children
Jan 67: Cheney turns 26 and was no longer eligible for the draft

6/22/2007:   Taking a page from Donald Trump, the methods aren't important, what matters are the results. So the Democrats have tried. And tried. But even with complete control of Congress, they have failed to make a measurable difference in any situation of consequence. Bush is having problems, but they are of his own making. He has already accomplished everything he set out to do. What they need to do now is only consider legislation that reverses the effects of the Bush administration. Not just reversing, but erasing.

How about a Party with cojones? How about being effective? How about not standing around biding your time? How about giving the American people a grocery list of what you'll be working on for the next 100 days? How about advertising what you accomplished in the first 100 days? How about making our government visible?

How about holding up the treasons and horrors of the Bush administration and announcing they are your targets, and then shoving them down Bush's throat and making him even more unpopular? Would Republicans really stand by the more egregious laws they created now that their effect has been felt and the President is so incredibly unpopular? I doubt it.

6/21/2007:   The gigantic walking ego called Ralph Nader has once again announced that he will attempt to screw up another election by stealing as many fence-sitting Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents as possible. He claims that's not the case, all while running on a plank nearly identical to any centrist Democratic candidate. What a jerk.

Do you think Bush actually signs his checks from the GOP? Or is it more of a barter/swap kind of thing? The kind of deal that goes, "You do this, and my organization will buy X million of your completely useless book." Or, "Screw things up for our enemies and we'll make sure that judge rules that your IRS debt is forgiven." Or, "Leech undecided votes and we'll rezone that public land and make sure your bid is the only one that gets any consideration."

Nader is a putz. He needs to be in the limelight to sell books, and that's his real reason for getting on his soapbox. Period, end of story. He's political parasite, sucking the political currency out of the system in order to expend it on book sales and merchandising.

6/16/2007:   Tonight I got an unsolicited email from some fundamentalist religious group. I usually delete crap that finds its way into my email box, but the following line caught my eye: "A woman suspected of killing her seven babies will not face criminal charges. Three-times-married Roberta Bibby set off a major police inquiry in 2004 by allegedly 'confessing' to a psychiatrist that she had killed the youngsters." The organization went on to assert, "This scenario is merely the logical consequence of a pro-abortion society."

Um, no. This scenario, taken out of context and truncated, leaves you believing that a serial killer was let off scot free, and all because the victims were babies, abortions are legal, and we don't value babies' lives. What it leaves out is that the police investigated the case thoroughly, psychiatrists pulled that woman's psyche apart and studied her in depth, and what they came up with was Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy. This is an officially recognized condition by a large percentage of the psychiatric profession. The treatment of this woman by the judicial branch of the U.K. has nothing to do with insensitivity to the value of the lives of babies.

This fundie group is sick. Period, end of story.

But they don't stop there, oh no. Try this on: they offer a cure for homosexuality, and they are advertising the contraception is an outgrowth of amoral sex education and general depravity.

You can't spell "fundie" without "fun", now can you?

What a bunch of crap. What a bunch of loser, meddling, control-freak, fundamentalist morons. This is what I hate about religion. It's not about God, it's not about spirituality, it's not about spreading any kind of universal truth, improving the human condition, or anything else. It's about power, it's about control, it's about forcing your idea of how life should be on someone else, defining that overwhelming majority of the population as second-class citizens according to some metric fabricated by the only guy that really knows the truth, the one that invented the religion as a means of creating a following, generating a power base.

And the current far right wing fundie GOP is the religion on top of a religion, riding the power base created when fundies have enough money to get candidates elected.

6/15/2007:   Okay, so Hamas has overthrown the Fatah government in Gaza. They claim to have done it relatively peacefully, but there are reports that they have executed Fatah leaders in the streets. Then, like a bunch of college frat boys, they posed in the former President's office, pretending for the cameras to make phone calls to Condoleeza Rice.

Yawn.

So the real question in my mind is, if they're really "in control," then why are they still hiding their faces? Are they cowards? Are they afraid of what will happen next? Are they ashamed of their rebel movement? Here, let me help...

Guys, as you stand in front of the microphones at the very first press conference, follow this script:

Rebel #1: "Hello. My name is [your name]. I am addressing you from the seat of the former [overthrown government] government. I am here to announce that that government is no more!"

Rebel #2: [clap politely.]

Rebel #1: "And now that the shackles of the oppressors have been broken, in our hour of victory, we no longer need to hide our identities in order to protect the lives of our loved ones from reprisal." [with a flourish, remove disguise]

Rebel #2: [remove disguise, no flourish]

[light cheers from off-camera rebels]

Rebel #1: "Thank you, thank you!" [motion for calm] "This is a proud day! A day many of the bravest men I have ever served with paid the ultimate price to obtain. And while we few, the lucky, can stand here today to bask in the rewards of freedom, let us..." [chin shudder, take a breath] "... let us never forget..." [choke, wipe away tears]

Rebel #2: [put hand on rebel #1 shoulder, tight smiled encouragement]

Rebel #1: [partial glance back, quick nod, gather strength] "...Let us never forget their sacrifice, the heroes, [crescendo] the patriots of the new nation we forge here today!"

[exuberant cheers, thunderous applause]

Okay, got it? None of this lounging around in masks with guns playing with the furniture and the phone. Grow up, have some class, act like you deserve it. And for God's sake, stop shooting defenseless people in the streets. Act like a******s get treated like a******s...

6/14/2007:   News just broke: Libby is to begin his 30 month prison term within 10 days. He can appeal all he wants from behind bars.

And about appeals: Libby's attorney is making the case that the special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald didn't have the authority to charge Libby with a crime. Wow! Someone get Ken Starr and Bill Clinton on the phone, quick!

Amen.

6/13/2007:   Harriet Miers and Sarah Taylor have received subpoenas, in spite of Bush's attempts to avoid them. He refused to have them questioned under oath. Now they'll have to. He refused to have them questioned in front of a full congressional committee, instead offering informal interviews. Congress will have its way in this as well.

As Senator Patrick Leahy was quoted as saying, "The White House cannot have it both ways -- it cannot stonewall congressional investigation by refusing to provide documents and witnesses, while claiming nothing improper occurred."

Amen.

And if either of them lies while under oath... I'm smelling jail time for someone. It's either going to be one of these ladies, or someone higher up. Hopefully the latter...

6/13/2007:   The SOB that had plotted with some other men to kidnap David Letterman's son for $15 million in ransom, has escaped from prison. Having worked as a painter on Letterman's house, he had stolen a key and knew where Mr. Letterman's son's room was. Fortunately, his plans fell apart when one of the guys he approached to help him got bad case of Goodness and went to the cops. Jailed nearly two years ago to the day, this man, Kelly Frank, with a long history of being a scumbag, escaped from a facility in Montana. He stands about 6'2" and gives off a definitive stench of loser. If you've seen this worthless waste of skin, please call the authorities immediately.

6/13/2007:   Sudden cut to black? Come on! It's artistic GENIUS! It's also marketing GENUIS! Yes, like the ending of "Cast Away", in which Tom Hanks finds himself at a literal and figurative crossroads in which there is no past, no U-turn to anything he knew before, but the entire world laid out before him, the Sopranos finale left all avenues wide open. The series got whacked, suddenly and without warning, but -- and here's the marketing part -- it made it almost certain that a move would follow. Like all highly successful TV series that go out on top, if there was only one movie script being floated when the final episode aired, I'll eat my keyboard.

I was never a Sopranos fan, but now that it's done, I'll probably order the DVD box set...

6/13/2007:   As I suspected, the immigration bill failed. I can tell you why. It focused on the rights and needs of people that got here by breaking the law. It didn't focus on the security of the border and of preventing people from entering this country without first being screened. They could have left everything else about it alone, but they didn't. They attempted to solve the bigger problems of dealing with the poor and destitute of our neighboring country without also giving them a blanket pardon for breaking our existing immigration law. That was dumb, and guaranteed the bill would fail.

Hopefully, someone in Congress will step immediately and address security concerns with a simpler, more direct bill.

6/13/2007:   Libby got serious prison time.

Couldn't happen to a better guy. He lied his ass off to a grand jury, and obstructed justice until the grand jury had run out of time to pursue anyone that might have been responsible for outing a covert CIA agent -- itself a treasonous offense, by the way.

Kind of puts lying about an affair in perspective, doesn't it? Kind of puts the death of James McDougal in a prison cell for doing absolutely nothing except *not* lying for Ken Starr in perspective, doesn't it? Kind of puts Karen McDougal's years in prison for refusing to lie on Starr's behalf in perspective, doesn't it?

And yet, Bush will pardon him. All the GOP candidates have said they'd pardon him. And that begs the question: has the GOP no shame whatsoever? Have they no sense of the rule of law? Have they absolutely no ethical or moral boundaries or compass in the smallest degree?

6/13/2007:   Paris Hilton finagled her way back out of jail after only two days in the medical ward, only to be slapped back into jail to serve her time.

Isn't it a relief to know that the sheriff in L.A. county can't deny justice? I mean, we're talking about the frikkin' sheriff here! Now the questions that remain are:

6/12/2007:   Sen. Joe Lieberman told Face The Nation the U.S. should bomb Iran because they continue to aid anti-American forces in Iraq. Yes, that's an insane position to take, insane and asinine. But the fact that this jerk has the public's ear is not what bothers me.

What freaks me out is that Al Gore actually wanted this guy as his vice president. How exactly did that happen? Why did Albert legitamize this moron? Was it crossover appeal? I used to think it was based solely on numbers, on north eastern support, but now I'm not so sure. A Democrat that only a Republican could love? What the was Mobian plan behind the Faustian deal? I'm at a loss on this one.

But either way, Joe is the first to go when the Democrats get more than a single vote ahead of the GOP in the Senate. He's a traitor of biblical proportions, and he needs to be ejected from the party.

6/12/2007:   Kelly Clarkson took advantage of her access to the public's ear to savage her ex-boyfriend. But asked about relationships, she informed interviewers that she has never said the actual words, "I love you," to any paramour, and she can't possibly be a mother now because she's, "not that selfless."

Okay, so let's review: She's self-centered, noncommital, and won't profess love. Yeah, it's clearly all his fault.

She goes on to claim that people don't listen to her because she's 25 and a woman. No honey, we don't listen because you're a little girl, regardless of your age. Have a nice day.

6/12/2007:   It occurs to me that, as incredibly backward as fundamentalist Christians can be, they still don't hold a candle to fundamentalist Muslims. A while back, Muslims were foaming at the mouth, burning down buildings, and threatening to kill and bomb people over some frikkin' cartoons in a Danish newspaper. But then, a year later, fundie Islamic leaders in Egypt have issued fatwahs (think papal bulls) that instruct women to breast feed their coworkers in order to establish family ties, and ordains that drinking the urine of Mohammed is "blessed."

Pardon me?

The Egyptian Muslim community is noticeably embarrassed and leading members of that group have come out publicly as saying that the highest Islamic leaders in Egypt are sorely out of touch with reality and the times they find themselves in. I mean, what sicko, lactation-obsessed, nut-job would pass an edict saying that women have to breast feed their coworkers? Whoever it is, he needs a ham-fisted right cross straight to the kisser to knock some sense back into him.

And the blessed urine thing? I guess Christians cornered the market on drinking blood with the sacrament. I mean, we are talking about a symbolic fluid, right? It's not like they stocked up large earthern jars of Mohammed's pee for special occasions, right? And if it's symbolic, couldn't they have picked something like spit, or sweat, or... ear wax? Or did some other religion already claim those, like Buddhists or Ghost Dancers or some such? I don't know. I guess I should research that one. Hm... Lessee... "Search"... Typing in "religious spit"...

Okay, so I get the following from looking up "religious spit":

Well, that was very educational. Nothing about any religion using spit as part of their sacrament. I hope my research has helped someone, somewhere, to choose something just a bit less disgusting as part of their religious teachings.

6/12/2007:   I'm at a loss on this one. Albanians were saved by Bill Clinton when he stopped the ethnic cleansing by bombing Yugoslavia. So why did the Albanians go nuts for the current warmongering liar-in-chief, George Bush? They're not too bright, are they?

6/5/2007:   Presidential hopeful Tommy Thompson said: “I would certainly not send [Bush] to the United Nations.” He said the president’s strengths of honesty and perseverance would be best used in touring America talking to the country’s youth. “I think he could be a wonderful spokesperson” for the virtues of public service."

Ignoring of course that Bush is a consummate liar, a murderer by proxy, and serves absolutely no one but himself, his family, and his corporate elitist friends. Mr. Thompson, you are an idiot.

6/4/2007:   Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas died of cancer Monday at the age of 74. I'm saddened by that, and I wish his family strength and healing. I just want to make sure I say that first, with respect and sincerety.

But considering the political hole that is left, I'm a bit tickled. He was a three term Republican senator. Now that he's gone, that means the balance of power is 51 Democrats to 48 Republicans in the Senate. Now's the time to jump start any bills that Joe Liebermann, George Bush's towel boy, doesn't like, because he's no longer the leverage vote.

Just a thought...

6/4/2007:   Military judges threw out war crimes charges against two Gitmo detainees, citing lack of jurisdiction.

Back in 2004, the Supreme Court ruled against Bush's use of military tribunals to try the Gitmo detainees. So the corrupt GOP-led Congress passed a bill limiting the detainees rights under the Constitution and in federal courts. George moved forward under the new law to try the detainees.

So George got his day in court -- and got bitch-slapped. Seems the military tribunal, when considering motion to dismiss based on jurisdiction, ruled that they had no say over enemy combatants. You see, they do have jurisdiction over "illegal alien enemy combatants," a very strictly defined legal classification, but not over "enemy combatants." Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales tried to sidestep the details of the detainment of the men housed at Guantanomo Bay, but the court, when presented with the specific scope of their perview, could only rule that the enemy combatants weren't necessarily "illegal" by any definition in the military code of conduct, the Geneva Conventions, or any other war time treaty or law.

So...

As much as George didn't want to do this, I guess he either has to continue to try them in federal courts -- which probably won't happen because he doesn't want the cases tried where the public has a right to oversee the proceedings and has access by petition to the evidence of a trial -- or just let them go.

Wow. It's so cool to watch evil men thwarted by the natural machinations of the system they have had only limited success subverting.

6/4/2007:   Democratic Rep. William Jefferson has been busted for extreme corruption, for not just accepting, but soliticing and even extorting bribes for himself, family, friends, and even officials of foreign governments.

It's about time.

Look, I don't want to give one inch to the current GOP, but Mr. Jefferson is one person the Democratic Party can do without. And in fact, by cooperating with the FBI in the investigation, by requiring him to relinquish chair positions of committees of the House of Representatives, by isolating him and reducing his power and influence to the bare minimum until the investigation was concluded, the Democratic Party has shown itself to be the party of ethics and of moral standards.

See ya later, Billy. Don't come back.

6/1/2007:   Lilly Ledbetter was discriminated against by Goodyear. She was paid markedly less than her male peers without reason or cause. The EEOC found in her favor, and a jury ruled in her favor, but a federal appeals court limited her claims to 180 days following the start of the first violation.

That's right. If you're being paid a lot less than you should based on gender, religion, age, or race, and you don't find out within 6 months, even though discussing compensation is typically verboten and can even be construed as grounds for termination at some companies, then you're just screwed.

Don't think so? Ask Samuel Alito. You know, that guy that I told you months ago, when he was up for confirmation, that his record showed he was pro-corporation and anti-women and minorities? Yeah, that guy. He led the charge to slap Mrs. Ledbetter down and show the world that rich white guys will be protected against all possible lawsuits and that fairness is for sissies. Rather than do his job and interpret the Constitutionality of the law, he just sided with the law that protects his corporate buddies, first and foremost among them being George W. Bush. He said,"the filing deadline protects employers from the burden of defending claims arising from employment decisions long past." Ignoring, of course, whether those employment decisions were legal or not... Hey, if you can't catch them within 6 months, they should just go free, right? That's fair, right?

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg protested, "In our view, the Court does not comprehend, or is indifferent to the insidious way in which women can be the victims of pay discrimination." Um, Mrs. Ginsburg? With all due respecit, it's the second one...

And now, the fun part...

Ladies! Remember in 2004 when you had a choice to make as to whether George W. Bush or John Kerry would make a better president? Do you honestly think for even one moment that John Kerry would have put someone like Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court? Do you think for even a second that John Kerry would have allowed anyone on that hallowed bench that would treat women and minorities as second class citizens? John Kerry put his life on the line in Vietnam for this country and all it stands for while Bush was AWOL from the Air National Guard, the most kickback, rear position wing of the armed services.

So if you're a woman and/or a minority and you voted for Bush... Well... Way to go. I wonder... Can you actually feel your rights slipping away? Can you feel the rights you gave up when you voted for Bush fading into the gloom?

6/1/2007:   The other day, a North Carolina court ruled that the Koran is a holy book and thus qualifies to have oaths sworn upon it.

Well, duh.

Sorry, but Muslims live here too, and, contrary to the beliefs the people that voted for Bush in 2004, 99% of them are not radical extremists. As part of our society, they will have occasion to be called to testify in court in various legal matters, and when they do, they will be sworn in on the book that underlies their religious beliefs. I would imagine that the Torah falls under that same designation. I'm not sure what a Buddhist would use. And I think it only really gets interesting when the person in question is a Satanist or an atheist. If we're going to assume that all oaths must be religious in nature, then what would an atheist use? A college science book? You can't say the writings of Darwin; Darwin was actually a deeply religious man. How about Stephen Hawkings, "A Brief History Of Time"?

6/1/2007:   I heard a clip of Bill O'Reilly having a Brokeback Mountain moment over Mitt Romney, waxing poetic about how presidential looking he is. "If you were to make up a guy, this would be the guy that looks presidential! He's got the jaw going on, the little gray thing in there, and I think that means a lot to America."

What the -?

So let me get this straight... Kerry was accused of flip-flopping on issues, and yet Mitt Romney flips on issues faster than an Army cook making pancakes for the 101st Battalion. He's been on every side of every issue, and has been quoting on opposite sides of key issues on the same day. John Edwards has been mocked for spending top dollar on his hair, while Mitt Romney puts more money into product for his hair helmet than Schwarzenegger puts into his Humvee's gas tank. Every effort has been made (and failed) to make Al Gore look foolish for his stand on global warming, while Mitt Romney couldn't explain to you where rain comes from. America voted against religious extremism in 2006, and Mitt Romney has become more and more foaming-at-the-mouth fundamentalist as time has gone on -- when he's not flipping and claiming to be liberal.

(I have to take a moment to refer back to an especially laughable snub Romney suffered last month -- click here to check it out.)

Mitt Romney is a horse's ass. Presidential my butt. We need someone who actually cares about America and isn't a huge fake. We need someone with character, not someone who is a character. We need someone with intelligence and the spine to act when it's appropriate and right to do so, not an actor.

You want to see someone with a leader's demeanor? Check out Al Gore. You want to see the next biggest mistake I hope this nation has learned enough not to make? Look at Mitt Romney.

6/1/2007:   Back in August of 2001, I wrote the following:

Thanks again, George. You jerk.