The War On Kwanzaa Heats Up

Leave it to a sniveling little pulpit puppet to attack an innocent celebration of heritage and seek spiritual and moral guidance from the likes of Sean Hannity, Walter Williams and Dennis Prager while doing so.

Tsk.

Kwanzaa Exposed: What the 'Principles' Really Represent
Rev. Peterson Calls on Blacks to Abandon Separatist, Godless Holiday

Contact: Ermias Alemayehu, BOND, 323-782-1980, 213-804-1872, bond@bondinfo.org

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- On the observance of the 40th anniversary of Kwanzaa (celebrated Dec. 26 to Jan. 1) Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of BOND, the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, is calling on blacks to abandon this “godless holiday.” Kwanzaa was founded by Maulana Karenga in 1966 to “help blacks get in touch with their African roots.” Karenga is a violent ex-con who served time in prison for torturing two women. He was also the head of the United Slaves Organization, a violent “black power” group. The following are some of the so-called “principles” of Kwanzaa and the truth about what they represent:

Umoja (unity) To maintain black unity.
Kujichagulia (self-determination) Black separatism—and in this case, separatism apart from whites.
Ujima (collective work and responsibility) Group thinking.
Ujamaa (cooperative economics) Code for socialism.
Imani (faith) The worship of false gods or no god at all (includes ancestor worship).

Rev. Peterson said, “Kwanzaa was designed to separate blacks from Christmas and Christianity. Kwanzaa is anti-white and anti-American. Black Americans need to make a choice between the Prince of Peace and the Marxist Karenga.”

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is the author of the hard hitting book “SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America” (Nelson Current). BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny) is a national nonprofit organization founded for the purpose of “rebuilding the family by rebuilding the man.” For more information, visit www.bondinfo.org

My, my. Guess who endorses this sniveling little "rebuilding the family by rebuilding the man" hate monger?

Thus Endeth Today's Sermon.

Go forth today and learn about Kwanzaa.

Go forth today and appreciate our Tossed Salad (the melting pot is a terrible metaphor) society.

Most of all...

Go forth today and leave Kwanzaa the hell alone.

I mean it, damn it!


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Martyr Making 101

Speculators report that Saddam Hussein will hang before the new year. Today is Dec. 29th.

"The American side has just called me and asked me to either send someone to pick up the personal effects of Saddam Hussein and his [half] brother Barzan al-Tikriti, or to give them an address to which they can send them," said lead defense attorney Khalil al-Dulaimi.

He said when he asked the U.S. military if this meant that Hussein had already been transferred to Iraqi custody for his execution, they refused to answer. More...

Dead men tell no tales.

But generation after generation after generation will tell the tale...

And fuel more hatred.


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Repeat After Me: Ford Was A Nice Guy. Ford Was A Nice Guy. Ford Was a Nice Guy.

After 24 hours of hearing everyone under the sun chant the same generic, yet Manchurian Candidate-like "Ford was a nice guy" sound byte, it's pretty damned obvious that no one who knew the man personally has an endearing personal Gerald Ford anecdote to share with the nation. Anyone else curious about the same old... well, same old that everyone is chanting?

Then there's this editorial...

Gerald Ford, Unsentimentally
By Matthew Rothschild

December 27, 2006

Sorry, but I refuse to let my tear ducts open over the death of Gerald Ford.

There's something profoundly undemocratic and vaguely medieval about the almost mandatory salutes that we, the people, are supposed to offer when a former President dies.

The niceties of custom all too often reinforce the habits of blind obedience to the unworthy wielders of power.

Say no ill of the dead, we are told.

Hogwash. Let'’s look at Gerald Ford's record.

The first thing he did was to pardon Richard Nixon, even though ten days previously he had said that the special prosecutor should proceed against "any and all individuals" and a year before, he averred that "I do not think the public would stand for it."

The pardon short-circuited the necessary prosecution of Nixon, which would have served as a salutary check on future inhabitants of the Oval Office. Instead, the pardon set a precedent for such flagrant lawbreakers as we have in the White House today.

If impeachment of Bush and Cheney may be just a remote possibility, prosecution and incarceration remain inconceivable. And so Bush and Cheney, thanks to Ford, can float comfortably above the law.

On domestic policy, Ford was a standard issue Republican, vetoing social spending bills, cutting food stamps and housing and education programs, infamously denying aid to New York City while all the while boosting Pentagon spending. And, in a move Bush and Cheney would have applauded, he proposed the nation’s first official secrets act to provide criminal penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of classified material.

On foreign policy, Ford was damnable.

He fronted for Pinochet in Chile, and kept aid flowing to that vicious strongman.

And on December 6, 1975, Ford and Henry Kissinger flew to Jakarta to meet with dictator Suharto and to give him a green light to invade East Timor.

According to a declassified State Department cable, here was part of their conversation.

Suharto to Ford and Kissinger: "We want your understanding if we deem it necessary to take rapid or drastic action."

Ford: "We will understand and will not press you on the issue. We understand the problem you have and the intentions you have."

Kissinger: "“We understand your problem and the need to move quickly, but I am only saying that it would be better if it were done after we returned."

Ford and Kissinger returned to the United States, and Suharto launched his invasion hours later.

Suharto's invasion and occupation cost the lives of 200,000 Timorese.

But never mind. We'’re not supposed to remember those things. Just that Gerry Ford was such a nice guy.

After I die, I hope that at least a few people have endearing personal anecdotes to share. Don't you?


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Gerald R. Ford's Legacy: Our Long National Nightmare Is Not Yet Over

I'm sorry that President Ford has died.

I'm also sorry that he always valued political party power over principle.

Republicans established the Policy Committee by Conference Resolution on January 26, 1949. For its first ten years, Republican Leader Joe Martin (MA) served as chairman. In 1959, the Conference unanimously elected Rep. John Byrnes (WI), the ranking Republican on the Ways & Means Committee, as chairman after junior Members sought to strengthen the Committee to modernize GOP policy. In 1963, under Conference Chairman Gerald Ford, the Conference amended its rules to increase the number of newer Members on the Committee so that it more broadly represented "forward-looking Republican thinking." With the support of Rep. Don Rumsfeld (IL), future House Republican Leader Rep. John Rhodes (AZ) succeeded Rep. Byrnes in 1965, and served until 1973. Subsequent chairmen were future World Bank President Barber Conable (NY, 1973-77); Rep. Del Clawson (CA, 1977-79); Rep. Bud Shuster (PA, 1979-81); the current Vice President, Dick Cheney (WY,1981-87); future Conference Chairman Jerry Lewis (CA, 1987-89); Rep. Mickey Edwards (OK, 1989-93); and current International Relations Chairman Henry Hyde (IL, 1993-95). Rep. Christopher Cox (CA) was elected Policy Chairman when Republicans won the House Majority in 1994.

With the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 as background, Congress (Democratic control) and the President struggled repeatedly over presidential war powers, oversight of the CIA and covert operations, military aid appropriations, and the stationing of military personnel.

On May 14, 1975, in a dramatic move, Ford ordered U.S. forces to retake the S.S. MAYAGUEZ, an American merchant ship seized by Cambodian gunboats two days earlier in international waters. The vessel was recovered and all 39 crewmen saved. In the preparation and execution of the rescue, however, 41 Americans lost their lives.

The facts are that in the last 2 years, I have submitted to the Congress and to the American people the two largest defense budget requests in the history of the United States in peacetime. Those requested appropriations for the best military personnel, the strongest weapons, the best planning by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, will give us the capability to deter war and to preserve our national security.

This kind of a program should reassure our allies on a worldwide basis, and this kind of a program should invite cooperation from any party that we negotiate with. Let me assure you that this administration will stand tall and strong in seeking peace through strength.

On September 9, 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon for any "crimes he committed or may have committed." The pardon was the result of several weeks of negotiation between the Ford Administration and Nixon, then living at San Clemente, California. Analysts have speculated that the president may have wanted to pardon Nixon to eliminate the problem of Watergate once and for all: Ford ordered his chief negotiators—his former law partner Philip Buchen, now the chief counsel to the president, and lawyer Benton Becker‚—not to drive too hard a bargain.

As a result, the final pardon allowed Nixon to keep restricted access to the Watergate tapes and did not require him to apologize to the American people for his actions. Many observers suspected that the pardon, issued largely on Nixon's terms, had been arranged prior to the resignation. However, Buchen emphatically asserted that there had been no secret agreements made between Nixon and Ford.

Nevertheless, the pardon ended any chance Ford might have had to establish his own presidency. His press secretary, Jerald terHorst, resigned rather than support the pardon. Confirmation of Ford's nominee for vice president, former New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, was held up for three months. Congress forced Rockefeller to publicly disclose his wealth and undergo a series of cross-examinations that many argued made it impossible for Rockefeller to be influential in the Ford Administration. Ford himself was called upon to testify in October 1975 to a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee that was investigating the pardon. The first president since Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) to testify in person, Ford was clear to the committee: "There was no deal, period."

Even this extraordinary appearance did not lessen press criticism of Ford, which had begun as soon as the pardon was announced. A large part of this criticism was extensive coverage of Ford's apparent clumsiness‚— he tripped and fell down the stairs of the presidential airplane in Austria, and was filmed several times falling down while skiing. Even two assassination attempts in 1975, both in California, failed to generate any substantial popular support for the president.

Ford said he did not regret his pardon decision, but added that it generated more of a political backfire than he expected.

"I knew it would be controversial," he said. "It turned out to be much more unpopular at the time than I anticipated, but that made no difference whatsoever. I never backed off because it was the right thing to do."

Rumsfeld, Ford, and Cheney

Sigh.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Not Enough Crap Sold To Bolster US Economy

The Great American Piggy Bank Drain leaves a mark on Christmas 2006:

Rush at End, but Sales Fall Short

There is always next year.

Shoppers swarmed discount stores and mobbed suburban malls over the crucial holiday weekend, but the final burst of buying is expected to fall short of retailers’ expectations.

Visa USA, the credit card company, said yesterday that it would lower its closely watched forecast for holiday spending. Based on purchases by credit and debit card holders, Visa said sales rose 6.5 percent in November and December, compared with the same period last year, down from its initial forecast of a 7.5 percent gain.

The company’s unexpected downward revision — and the millions of dollars in lost sales it represents — could have broad implications for the nation’s merchants, who count on purchases during the holiday season for nearly half of their business.

For consumers, it will probably translate into even deeper discounts over the next week, as they begin redeeming millions of gift cards.

Industry analysts said that, after a strong, discount-induced start the day after Thanksgiving, consumer spending slowed in December and never fully recovered. A soft housing market and high fuel prices pinched consumer spending, while unseasonably warm temperatures damped sales of cold-weather clothing from New York to Chicago.

A soft housing market and high fuel prices?

How about millions of lost jobs, a ginormous increase in health care costs, and a Bush Brazillion other drains on America's wallet, WaPo?

"There's always next year" is an example of truly shoddy analysis.

Sigh.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Christmas 2006 & How Rich You Are

If you only have time to click on one link today, let it be this one...

Let us not be stopped by that which divides us but look for that which unites us

May your days be merry and bright!


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Christmas Eve Sermon On The Blog

Today's guest minister: Bill Moyers

A Parable For Our Times
Bill Moyers

The Christian story begins simply: A child is given, a son. He grows up to be a teacher, sage, healer and prophet. He gains a large following. To many he is a divine savior; to the rich and powerful he is an enemy. They put him to death in brutal fashion, befitting his humble beginnings in peasant Galilee and his birth in a stall thick with the raw odor of animals.

Toward the end of his life, Jesus preached in the Temple to large crowds, reaching the height of his power. There he told the parable that likely sealed his fate. He said there was a man who created a prosperous vineyard and then rented it to some tenants while he went away on a journey. At harvest time, the owner of vineyard sent a servant to collect a portion from the tenants, but they beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. Another servant came, and they struck him on the head. Another they killed. Finally, the owner sent his own son to collect the back payments. “They will respect my son,” he thought. But when the tenants saw the son, and knew him to be the heir, they saw their chance to take full possession of the harvest. And so they killed the son, thinking now they would owe nothing from the vineyard to anyone.

The listeners understood the symbolism: God, of course, is the owner of the vineyard, and the vineyard is Israel or the covenant, or, more broadly, the whole creation. It is all that God entrusts to the leaders of his people. And what is in question is their stewardship of this bounty.

In the parable, the “tenants” are the leaders of Israel. They hoard the fruits of the vineyard for themselves, instead of sharing the fruits as the covenant teaches, according to God’s holy purposes. And the holiest of God’s purposes, ancient tradition taught, is helping the poor, and the fatherless, and the widow, and the stranger—all who do not have the resources to live in a manner befitting their dignity as creatures made in God’s image, as children of God.

When he finished the story, Jesus asked the people what the owner of the vineyard will do when he comes back. “He will kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others,” Jesus tells them. In the Gospel of Matthew, the people themselves answered: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

Political dynasties fall from negligent stewardship. One thinks of the upward redistribution called “tax relief”; of the Iraq invasion sold as critical to the “War on Terror"; of rising poverty, inequality, crime, debt, and foreclosure as America spews its bounty on war and a military so muscle-bound it is like Gulliver. It would be hard to imagine a more catastrophic failure of stewardship, certainly in the biblical sense of helping the poor and allocating resources for the health of society. Once upon a time these errant stewards boasted of restoring a culture of integrity to politics. They became instead an axis of corruption, joining corporate power to political ideology to religious self-righteousness.

• • •

The story is told of the devil and a companion walking along the streets. The companion saw a man reach down and pick up the truth from the sidewalk. "You're finished," the companion said to the devil. "I just saw that man pick up the truth from the street, and that means you are finished." The devil smiled and answered, "Don't worry. He's a human, and in 15 minutes he will have turned the truth into a concept and no one will know what it is."

From theories stubbornly followed in defiance of truth on the street comes ruin. Laissez-faire was never a good idea; in practice it is ruinous.

This is the season to recall Walt Whitman. He wrote in Democratic Vistas, around 1870:

The true gravitation-hold of liberalism in the United States will be a more universal ownership of property, general homesteads, general comfort—a vast, intertwining reticulation of wealth. As the human frame, or, indeed, any object in this manifold universe, is best kept together by the simple miracle of its own cohesion, and the necessity, exercise and profit thereof, so a great and varied nationality, occupying millions of square miles, were firmest held and knit by the principle of the safety and endurance of the aggregate of its middling property owners.

How prophetic to see anything like that in the aftermath of the Civil War, in which Whitman had volunteered as a nurse. But in a time of great upheaval, countered by popular mobilization after mobilization, the great poet’s took hold in the people's imagination. Whitman’s liberalism had neither the cultural elitism of those identified with the term on the left, nor the laissez-faire extremism of the free-market “liberals” on the right. Liberalism meant “the safety and endurance of the aggregate of middling property owners.” Its consummation was the New Deal social compact we inherited from five presidents and from substantial voting majorities for a generation after the Great Depression, and the result was the prospect of a fair and just society—a cohesion—that truly made us a democratic people.

Equality is not an objective that can be achieved but it is a goal worth fighting for. A more equal society would bring us closer to the “self-evident truth” of our common humanity. I remember the early 1960s, when for a season one could imagine progress among the races, a nation finally accepting immigrants for their value not only to the economy but to our collective identity, a people sniffing the prospect of progress. One could look at the person who is different in some particular way—skin color, language, religion—without feeling fear. America, so long the exploiter of the black, red, brown, and yellow, was feeling its oats; we were on our way to becoming the land of opportunity, at last. Now inequality—especially between wealth and worker—has opened like an unbridgeable chasm.

Ronald Reagan once described a particular man he knew who was good steward of resources in the biblical sense. “This is a man,” Reagan said, “who in his own business, before he entered politics, instituted a profit-sharing plan, before unions had ever thought of it. He put in health and medical insurance for all his employees. He took 50 percent of the profits before taxes and set up a retirement program, a pension plan for all his employees. He sent checks for life to an employee who was ill and couldn’t work. He provided nursing care for the children of mothers who worked in the stores.”

That man was Barry Goldwater, a businessman before he entered politics. It’s incredible how far we have deviated from even the most conservative understanding of social responsibility. For a generation now Goldwater’s children have done everything they could to destroy the social compact between workers and employers, and to discredit, defame, and even destroy anyone who said their course was wrong. Principled conservatism was turned into an ideological caricature whose cardinal tenet was of taxation as a form of theft, or, as the libertarian icon Robert Nozick called it, “force labor.” What has happened to us that such anti-democratic ideas could become a governing theory?

• • •

Of course it’s hard to grasp what really motivated this movement. Many of the new conservative elites profess devotion to the needs of ordinary people, in contrast with some of their counterparts a hundred years ago who were often Social Darwinists, and couldn’t have been more convinced that a vast chasm between the rich and poor is the natural state of things. But after 30 years of conservative revival and a dramatic return of the discredited “voodoo economics” of the 1980s under George W. Bush, it’s reasonable to follow the old biblical proverb that says by their fruits you shall know them. By that realistic standard, I think the Nobel Laureate economist Robert Solow’s analysis sums it up well: What it’s all about, he simply said, is “the redistribution of wealth in favor of the wealthy and of power in favor of the powerful."

I grew up in East Texas, in a county that once had more slaves than any other in Texas. It is impossible to forget that as the slave power grew in the South and King Cotton catapulted the new nation into the global marketplace, the whole politics of the country was infected with a rule of property that did not—indeed could not—distinguish the ownership of things from the ownership of human beings. Drawing from the Hebrew prophets and the Book of Revelation, the abolitionists simply said this: the rule of law has become moral anarchy. God’s light clarified that the rule of law had become moral anarchy.

Something was wrong in the very foundation of things, and so the foundation had to be rebuilt on sounder principles. But no mere parchment of words divulged the principles that ultimately preserved the union. They were written in blood—thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dead Americans. And so by untold sacrifice the rule of law was righted to exclude human property. Then, of course, the slave power simply rejected the rule of law and established rule by terror. The feudal south became the fascist south. It did happen here, to answer Sinclair Lewis’s famous riddle of the 1930s.

What is finally at the root of these reactionary forces that have so disturbed the social fabric and threatened to undo the republic? If a $4 billion dollar investment in chattel labor was worth the price of civil war and 600,000 dead in 1860, is it really any wonder that the richest Americans would not suffer for too long a political consensus that pushed their share of national income down by a third, and held it there—about at the level of their counterparts in “socialist” Europe—for a generation? Make no mistake about it, from the days of the American Liberty League in 1936 (the group Franklin Roosevelt had in mind with his crowd-pleasing battle cry, “I welcome their hatred!”) they never gave up on returning to their former glory. They just failed to do it. Ordinary people had powerful institutions and laws on their side that thwarted them—unions, churches, and, yes, government programs that were ratified by large majorities decade after decade.

The scale of the disorder in our national priorities right now is truly staggering; it approaches moral anarchy. Alexander Hamilton, the conservative genius of the financial class, warned this could happen. Speaking to the New York State legislature in 1788, he said:

As riches increase and accumulate in few hands; as luxury prevails in society; virtue will be in a greater degree considered as only a graceful appendage of wealth, and the tendency of things will be to depart from the republican standard. This is the real disposition of human nature: It is what, neither the honorable member nor myself can correct. It is common misfortune, that awaits our state constitution, as well as others.

Conservatives who revere the founding fathers tend to stress the last point—that there is nothing to be done about this "common misfortune." It is up to the rest of us, who see the founding fathers not as gods but as inspired although flawed human beings—the hand that scribbled "All men are created equal" also stroked the breasts and thighs of a slave woman, whom he considered his property—to take on "the tendency of things " to "depart from the republican standard," and hold our country to its highest, and most humane, ideals.

As stewards of democracy, we, too, have a covenant—with one another.

Thus Endeth Today's Sermon.

Go forth today and consider the inherent barriers to any religion's realization of any god's kingdom on earth: greed, ignorance, and rationalization.

True believers have always been and always will be thwarted by those in positions of power, whose ignorance of grace and rationalization of their own actions severely limit each generation's ability to fulfill its understood covenant.

Light a candle for the true believers of your generation, for those who came before, and for those who will surely come after.

I mean it, damn it!

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Waste Some Time Today!

I mean it, damn it!


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Corporate Compassion? Get Real!

The Washington Post has this Business Columnist, see. And he's written a multi-page "Glory Be To Big Biz" bible (of sorts), in which he names names and praises the corporateers for "inspiring" employees to donate to charitable organizations.

In Praise of the Corporate Heart

By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, December 22, 2006; Page D01

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, who died this year, famously argued that businesses ought to stick to making money and leave it to shareholders to decide, individually, whether and how company profits should be distributed to charitable causes.

Let us give thanks this holiday season that the world did not follow Friedman's advice. It is not just that having corporations involved in philanthropy increases the amount of money given to worthy causes. It is also that companies can bring unique resources and expertise to these challenges and tap into the enthusiasm and creativity of their employees.

Of course, there's not a single word about the unspoken pact between employees who value their jobs and how their generous donations (trans. sizable chunks of each worker's salary) make the corporateers look good to the public-at-large.

Friedman was right, y'all. When individuals donate to causes, they do it because they care. When the boss "asks" you to support his/her chosen charity, it's plain vanilla extortion.

Before you get all indignant, replace the words "charitable cause" with "political party."

And the beat goes on...


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Would Bush Tell You To Go Shopping If The Economy Was Strong?

Of course, he would. But that's because his Old Man Potter cronies want bigger and better profits. Plus, it diverts attention from Bush's failed war, failed domestic agenda, and failed... well, everything.

Anyway, here's a bit of levity to brighten your Bush Bah Humbug day:



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Charles Phoenix Rocks My World!

I love this guy!



Click the Arrow Above.
You know you want to.


What's more fun than a Retro Xmas cocktail wiener entremet?

Hm?


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Not Winning. Not Losing. What Is It, Then... Maintaining?

Is this the Goldilocks (Just Right!) Gambit, or is it merely the latest from George W. Logorrhea, the notorious 60's druggie, for whom "Maintaining" was priority #1?

As he searches for a new strategy for Iraq, Bush has now adopted the formula advanced by his top military adviser to describe the situation. "We're not winning, we're not losing," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. The assessment was a striking reversal for a president who, days before the November elections, declared, "Absolutely, we're winning." More...

Will someone please test this guy's urine?

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Katie "Bite Me" Couric Complains

Poor Katie. It's just too damned hard being perky when people expect you to fill the shoes of Walter Cronkite!

Katie Couric admits that her new gig as anchor of the CBS Evening News has been "a little harder than I thought it would be."

"Some people out there are rooting for me to fail," Couric, 49, tells Esquire in its January issue. "You have to be unwavering in your convictions that you're doing something good, because there are a lot of circling vultures that will eat you alive."

Couric points out that Esquire itself criticized her after her Sept. 5 debut. "You guys even take a shot at me," she tells the magazine. "You have something in the November issue, something about how since I've become an anchor, you don't know me anymore. You don't know me anymore? Bite me."

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Warmest Wishes For Freedom...

... from the ACLU:


An Overdue Visit

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the nation
Friends of Freedom knew it was a special occasion.
Lady Liberty stood taller just off the shore
Her torch shining brighter than a few weeks before

But it wasn't the flame turning her cheeks all rosy
It was thoughts of Snowe, Feingold and Nancy Pelosi
And leaders from every side of the aisle
Who would soon bring the Bill of Rights back into style.

The Amendments had all hurried out of their beds -
Which was no easy task, they were nearly in shreds -
And they rushed to the window on papery feet
As a jolly old man flew right over their street.

"Could it be!?" they inquired as the roof shook and trembled
And they crept toward the mantle, peaceably assembled,
Just as someone emerged from the chimney with flair
In a shiny red suit, with a shock of white hair

And a top hat, and pants all in red, white and blue -
"Wait a minute," the Amendments exclaimed, "Who are you?"
"Don't be frightened my children," he said, "it's no scam.
"You can't have forgotten your old Uncle Sam!"

"Holy crap!" said Free Speech. "Stop right there!" yelled Bear Arms
And Privacy cried "Who shut off the alarms?!"
The Fifth remained silent, but Uncle Sam said
"We've been having some trouble, but Freedom's not dead."

The Amendments were cautious. "It's just been so long
"We've seen Liberty lost, we've seen so much go wrong.
"The President's trying to mangle and warp us,
"The Fourth is in tatters, so's Habeas Corpus!"

The old man sat down - he had had quite a ride -
But he told them "Don't worry, the Law's on our side,
"'Cause the nation's fed up and more people are crying
"For Justice and an end to illegal spying,

"And secret abductions by the CIA,
"And laws that would take women's choices away,
"And Gitmo tribunals and secret detention,
"And other intrusions too numerous to mention - "

"Not so fast," said a grinchity voice from above
And Don Rumsfeld pushed past the Fourteenth with a shove.
He was covered in soot and he looked kind of scary.
It seemed like his Christmas had not been so merry.

The Amendments said they weren't happy to see him:
"You tried to throw all of us in the museum!
"You've done so much the Constitution forbids!"
"And I would have gone on, but for you meddling kids!"

Uncle Sam told him "Rummy, your plans just won't do,
"So we've got a brand new timetable for you!"
And as Rumsfeld retired and crept into the night
The Amendments cried out "Have a good secret flight!"

From the distance they heard him reply with a snort.
"Bye-bye, Rummy!" they answered, "we'll see you in court!"
Uncle Sam rode the chimney up out of the room
And, like Frosty, he said "I'll be back again soon."

But they heard him exclaim "Oh, and just one more thing!
"This year, when the holiday bells start to ring,
"Try to honor religion. Honest faith can't be wrong.
"It's America, can't we all just get along?

"So, on Christian," he cried, "Muslim, Hindu, and Jew!
"On Quaker! On Shaker! And Atheist too!
"On Buddhist! On Taoist! And to show we're not chickens
"We'll file a few lawsuits defending the Wiccans!

"Your belief is your right, so get out there and savor it.
"Uncle Sam's not a preacher, and he doesn't play favorites!"
So this holiday season, whatever you do,
Warmest wishes for Freedom, from the ACLU.
********************

The ACLU's sole purpose is to uphold and defend the US Constitution.

Got a problem with that?


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Sermon On The Blog: North Pole To Be Replaced By Bethlehem

I'm not kidding, kiddies. Santa is out, and Baby Jesus is in:

Redirecting Christmas From North Pole to Bethlehem

By Adelle M. Banks

Standing next to plastic figures of Mary, baby Jesus and Joseph, two ministers and three members of Congress took turns at a microphone this month to announce a new initiative called "Project Nativity."

"Our hope and prayer is that over the next three to four years, hundreds of nativity scenes will begin to dot the landscape of America once again," said the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition. He said he hoped the temporary nativity scene on a terrace of the Capitol would serve as a "template" for similar efforts.

His project, which encourages Christians to seek permits for nativity scenes in front of public buildings, is just one example of multiple efforts to "take Christmas back." In recent years, there have been rumors of a "War on Christmas" and actual skirmishes over the use of the word in the public square and at the retail counter.

What a crock!

Here's how stupid ideas like these gain support:

The initiatives stretch across the Atlantic to northern Ireland, where Catholic schoolteacher Kathleen Darragh wrote her own version of "12 Days of Christmas" that is being distributed by Illinois-based ACTA Publications.

Writing with her schoolchildren in mind, her poem begins: "On the first day of Christmas, our true God sent to us . . . Our Saviour Baby Jesus."

"The most excited talk they have is about Santa, and I sort of thought we have to get this idea across to them that Christmas is really about Christ and keeping the Christ in Christmas," she said in a telephone interview.

Thus Endeth Today's Sermon.

Go forth today and ask yourself two questions:

1. Who are the three unnamed wiseguy members of congress who support this idiotic idea?

2. Do you want the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to end with Baby Jesus, Mary & Joseph?

Inflatable Baby Jesus and kneeling Santa companies just want a piece of the action, y'all. And they'll take advantage of the spiritually-challenged to get their products marketed and sold.

I mean it, damn it!


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

They Won't Be Home For Christmas

Voters to Republicans: End the damned war! Bring the troops home! Stop stealing our tax dollars and handing them to your buddies! Stop disappearing people! Stop covering up your perverts! Stop persecuting minorities!

Bush & his Republican Flying Monkeys: Did you hear something? Naaah, it was just a swarm of gnats.

Case in point: Bush's war in Iraq. "Double down" was just a campaign promise. "Bush won't decide on a strategy until January." "McCain calls for more troops in Iraq."

Huh?

Why wait, Bush?

You heard correctly. If Bush had honestly planned to begin withdrawing troops, would he spend the holidays attending 24 parties instead of de-Scrooging himself by Christmas Eve?

Of course not.

Officials said that the options being considered included the deployment of upwards of 50,000 additional troops, but that the political, training and recruiting obstacles to an increase larger than 20,000 to 30,000 troops would be prohibitive. More...

Bush is a coward, y'all. Plain and simple. Too afraid to tell the truth to the voters. More war, more death, more holiday parties.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

This Week's Backside Of The Bell Curve Winner!

US Supreme Court Injustice

Antonin Scalia

"If you become a federal judge in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), you can't raise a family on what the salary is," Scalia said during a speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Federal judges earned salaries of $165,200 in 2006. Scalia said lawyers can easily earn significantly more by staying in the private sector.

The result, Scalia said, is that the judiciary will increasingly appeal only to those who have made a career out of public-sector work.

"More and more, we cannot attract the really bright lawyers. It's too much of a sacrifice," he said.

Scalia spent most of his speech advocating a theory of constitutional interpretation called originalism, which seeks to discern the meaning of the Constitution as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

He mocked those who interpret the Constitution as a living document that has evolved over time.

He referred to the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on the death penalty, which has cited "evolving standards of decency" to ban the death penalty for juveniles and the mentally retarded as cruel and unusual punishment.

"I have no idea what the standards of decency are out there. I'm afraid to ask," Scalia said.

Scalia's constitution would protect only free, white, male landowners. Is that your idea of democracy?

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Senator Johnson Alive & Doing Fine

To all of you fascist fundie freeper wingnuts out there, anxious to bury Sen. Johnson and install Trent Lott as Senate Majority Leader before the body is cold:

Irony Alert!

Adm. John Eisold, attending physician of the U.S. Capitol, told CNN that Johnson had "an intracerebral bleed caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation. He underwent successful surgery to evacuate the blood and stabilize the malformation."

"It is premature to determine whether further surgery will be required or to assess any long term prognosis," Eisold said.

Barbara Johnson, wife of Sen. Johnson, said, "The Johnson family is encouraged and optimistic. They are grateful for the prayers and good wishes of friends, supporters and South Dakotans. They are especially grateful for the work of the doctors and all medical personnel and GWU hospital." --snip--

"It transpired very fast," she said, adding the senator's staff was shaken by the incident.

But, she said of the hospital, "We keep reminding ourselves, this is where they take Dick Cheney."

By the way, do you honestly think we'd let a little thing like this undo the votes of the entire nation? As long as Johnson can blink one damned eye, he's on the job. Jesse Helms and Ol' Strom were several bricks short of full loads, and you didn't call for them to be replaced, did you, Asshats?


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Undocumented Polish? Congrats! You're The Next BushCo INS Target!

I'm sure that's the BushCo INS plan! After all, an illegal alien is an illegal alien! By the way, that was...



But, if your name is Maria and you've overindulged yourself at the local tanning salon... and you don't happen to have proof you were born and raised in the good old US of A when a thousand armed La Migra agents pay your workplace a visit, it sucks to be you.

Federal raid puts families in limbo
Immigration agents looking for stolen IDs detain scores in Hyrum
By Jennifer Sanchez, Dawn House and Kristen Moulton

HYRUM - If only for a few minutes, Maria felt like an ''illegal alien'' in her homeland - the United States of America.

She thought she was going on break from her job at the Swift & Co. meat processing plant here on Tuesday, but instead she and others were forced to stand in a line by U.S. immigration agents. Non-Latinos and people with lighter skin were plucked out of line and given blue bracelets.

The rest, mostly Latinos with brown skin, waited until they were ''cleared'' or arrested by ''la migra,'' the popular name in Spanish for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), employees said.

''I was in the line because of the color of my skin,'' she said, her voice shaking.

''They're discriminating against me. I'm from the United States, and I didn't even get a blue bracelet.''

Maria was one of hundreds of plant employees targeted by federal agents. But she and her husband were the lucky ones - later Tuesday, they returned home to their three sons.

The federal agents raided the Swift & Co. meat processing plant early Tuesday morning after arrest warrants had been issued for 60 workers, part of "Operation Wagon Train," a nationwide investigation involving undocumented immigrants using stolen Social Security numbers of U.S. citizens to gain employment.

Welcome to Bushland, Maria.

Enjoy your stay! And don't forget to keep your citizenship papers up to date!

However, if your skin were just lighter ...

"People in illegal status sometimes exploit Mexican workers and other workers because there's always the threat of exposure hanging over a person," Lorys said. "So that's why I think they're sympathetic, because when we're talking about illegal [immigrants], I think [Poles] are the second largest group to the Hispanic group."

Lorys said the majority of undocumented Polish immigrants in the United States come legally, but don't return to Poland when their visas have expired. Others fly from Cuba to Mexico and cross the border in the same manner as many undocumented Mexican immigrants.

You're no Meyer Lansky, Maria. No blue bracelet for you!

Truly heavy sigh.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Publishing School Honor Roll Names Too Stressful For Those... er, Not On The List?

File this under: It's getting weirder & weirder out there.

H.S. Halts Publication of Honor Roll
Needham High Cites Stress On Students As Major Reason

By Jim Boyd
Special Correspondent

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Needham High School has abandoned its long-standing practice of publishing the names of students who make the honor roll in the local newspaper.

Principal Paul Richards said a key reason for stopping the practice is its contribution to students' stress level in "This high expectations-high-achievement culture."

The proposal to stop publishing the honor roll came from a parent. Richards took the issue before the school council, which approved it. Parents were notified of the decision last month. Richards said he received about 60 responses from both parents and students and the feedback has been evenly split for and against.

Richards said one parent with three children attending Needham High told him publishing the honor roll is a constant cause of stress in her family. According to that parent, one of the three students routinely made the honor roll while the other two did not.

Hm. I have to wonder if this principal ever made the honor roll when he was in high school. Check out this convoluted metaphor:

Needham High's principal said the decision to no longer publish the honor roll is not nailed in cement. Richards said it is "subject to review." He said, "We'll go through this year without it and assess the impact on the school culture."

Not nailed in cement?

And by the way, isn't it just as stressful for students who didn't make the football team to read all of those newspaper stories about the team? What about those who didn't make prom court?

Nail that in your demented cement, Principal Richards.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Move Over, Christmas! The Cruel War On Cupcakes Is Raging!

Behold the simple wonder that is the cupcake.

Now consider the latest attempt to "protect school children" against the evils of cupcake consumption. This is by far the lamest of all the lame attempts in the history of lame attempts, including the "duck & cover" crap many of us endured during the Cold War's heyday, to blame anything and everything (except parents) for what ails our children.

Once Just a Sweet Birthday Treat, the Cupcake Becomes a Cause

By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer

Once a cupcake wasn't something to think about. It was just what your mom brought to school for your birthday. But this year, as schools across the country begin enforcing new federally mandated "wellness policies," many are banning the little treats. And parents are fighting back.

When the principal at George Mason Elementary School in Alexandria explained to the PTA earlier this year that cupcakes were out, a furor erupted.

"A lot of people are really angry," said Karen Epperson, a George Mason parent. "They think this is really stupid."

Of course, it's stupid.

Blaming The Cupcake

Is it the cupcake's fault that kids are out of shape, fed tons of starchy, all-you-can-eat trough-piled lumps of artery-clogging crap
by parents, in fast food joints, and even at school?

The reason school districts are writing wellness policies is because childhood is so much different today from when boomer parents were young.

Every day, we're told: More children are dangerously overweight. More children are diabetic. More children have life-threatening allergies to everything from peanuts to wheat to milk. More children sit around watching TV and playing video games.

Or is it the historic "Don't make A Mess In The Classroom" bunch that's dooming the cupcake by creating a rift between the cupcake bakers and the non-cupcake bakers?

And, as many schools know, every classroom is divided between the cupcake-haves, the ones whose mothers dutifully lug in trays of them, and the cupcake-have-nots, whose mothers can't afford to or don't know that it's expected.

For the "Cupcake-Have-Nots":

24 Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup butter
* 4 eggs
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Chocolate Frosting

INGREDIENTS

* 5 1/3 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 pinch salt
* 3 tablespoons boiling water
* 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter. Add in cocoa, salt and boiling water, stirring until smooth.
2. Add powdered sugar and beat until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. If frosting seems too thick, add water. If it seems too thin, add powdered sugar.
3. Spread on cooled cakes and cupcakes.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

The "War On Terror" Is Over...

... For the British, that is:

Britain stops talk of 'war on terror'

Foreign Office has asked ministers to ditch the phrase invented by Bush to avoid stirring up tensions within the Islamic world

Jason Burke

Cabinet ministers have been told by the Foreign Office to drop the phrase 'war on terror' and other terms seen as liable to anger British Muslims and increase tensions more broadly in the Islamic world. --snip--

Why, oh why have the British abandoned the BushCo WOT catch phrase?

Duh.

Many senior British politicians and counter-terrorism specialists have always been uneasy with the term 'the war on terror', coined by the White House in the week following the 9/11 attacks, arguing that the term risked inflaming opinions worldwide. Other critics said that it was too 'military' and did not adequately describe the nature of the diverse efforts made to counter the new threat.

Looks like it's time for BushCo to introduce a new battle cry campaign...





I guess it's just a matter of time before American Neoconmen (and Neoconwomen) start calling the British "Surrender Monkeys."

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Today's Sermon: Zounds! Oh, Tabernacle!

At least one Washington Post reporter and his editor think they're onto something new...

In French-Speaking Canada, the Sacred Is Also Profane

Quebecers Turn to Church Terms, Rather Than the Sexual or Scatological, to Vent Their Anger

By Doug Struck
Washington Post Foreign Service

MONTREAL -- "Oh, tabernacle!" The man swore in French as a car splashed through a puddle, sending water onto his pants. He could never be quoted in the papers here. It is too profane.

So are other angry oaths that sound innocuous in English: chalice, host, baptism. In French-speaking Quebec, swearing sounds like an inventory being taken at a church.

Zounds! You'd think that The Washington Post had single-handedly uncovered a sinister Quebecquois plot to corner the market on sacrilegious euphemisms.

Ahem...

These are the words, with their probable original meanings and the dates of their first quoted use in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Zounds: God's wounds (i.e., the injuries suffered by Christ on the cross). 1600.
Gad, Egad: God. 1673.
Gadzooks: God's hooks (i.e., the nails use to fix Christ to the cross). 1694.
Gosh (gosh-darned, gosh-awful, etc.): God. 1757.
Golly: God. 1775.
Darn: Damn. 1781.
Tarnation: Damnation. 1790.
Dang: Damn. 1793.
Jiminy (or Jiminy Cricket): From Gemini or Jesu Domine. 1803 (1664 for Gemini).
Drat2: "God rot". 1815
Crikey: Christ. 1838.
Sam Hill: Hell. 1839.
Doggone: Probably from "God damn". 1851.
Heck: Hell. 1865.
Gee: Jesus (or possibly Jerusalem). 1895.
Gorblimey: God blind me. 1896.
Jeez: Jesus. 1923.
Jeepers (or jeepers-creepers): Jesus Christ. 1929.

Jesus on a pogo stick, y'all! There's nothing new under the sun, and French Canadians aren't out to blaspheme their way to hell, either.

What the hell is blasphemy, anyway, and have I just committed it? --snip--

With great narrative subtlety and interpretive flair, Word Crimes explodes these would-be truths about blasphemy. In nineteenth-century England, Marsh demonstrates, a spate of blasphemy prosecutions--she counts more than two hundred between 1817 and 1883--accompanied the birth pangs of modernity. In these trials, blasphemy law was no mere shield for the vulnerable heart of religion. Instead, prosecutions for blasphemy defined the more elusive category of the unspeakable: "what you may not say" and how you cannot say it (7). What the Victorians held sacred, Marsh makes clear, was less the Bible than Literature, less creed than class. By the century's end, blasphemy had become, quite simply, "a class crime of language," a means to establish "a single standard for public discourse that it was impossible for the less educated to observe." The law of blasphemy, in sum, had "criminalized vulgarity" and sacrilized taste (8).

I'll swan! (trans. I'll swear on it!)

Thus Endeth Today's Sermon.

Go forth today and remember the swear words of your childhood... the ones your parents couldn't help but utter when the hammer hit the thumb instead of the nail or the pot on the stove boiled over. If this is your idea of a bad Christian, the halls of the hell you believe in are surely full today! Think it over.

I mean it, damn it!



Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

The Word Of The Year

Truthiness, of course.

No lie: `truthiness' gets picked as Word of the Year

By Adam Gorlick, Associated Press Writer

With no end to the controversy over the war in Iraq and plenty of political wrangling and scandal in this midterm election year, thousands of people were left trying to get to the truthiness of the matter.

That's right. The truthiness.

Coined and defined by Comedy Central's satirical political commentator Stephen Colbert as "truth that comes from the gut, not books," the word "truthiness" best sums up 2006, according to an online survey by Springfield dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Et tu, Barney?

Even the dog has voted!

Congrats, George W.! You're this week's Backside of the Bell Curve winner!



That'll do, Barney!

That'll do.

By the way, don't forget my weekly column, The Blog Box. This week: Save The Cheerleader, Screw The World!


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Shields & Yarnell were amateurs, y'all!

jerome murat
Uploaded by segalier

Wow!

By the way, there are many more cool videos available at that upload site.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

BushCo: "Help Us, Mickey Mouse! You're Our Only Hope!"

Truth: BushCo has ruined our country's reputation. Torture, Death & Destruction are now our brand name products.

Consequence: "American tourism has suffered" is one of the most glaring examples of the term understatement.

We don't know exactly whose not-so-bright Fix America's Image idea this is (from within the Bush administration), but it's attributed to Rice and Chertoff, and it's definitely in the... er, Mickey Mouse category...

U.S. looks to Disney to improve image

America ranked the most unfriendly to visitors in recent survey

WASHINGTON - Faced with a decline in the number of overseas visitors and unpopular entry requirements, the U.S. government is turning to the Walt Disney Co. and other theme park operators to brighten the country’s battered image. --snip--

So far, applying for American visas still involves standing for hours in long lines at fortress-like embassies. Stern immigration officials at American airports often inspire fear, according to the survey.

Enter the U.S. travel industry, which has watched with concern the parallel trends of rising anti-American feeling around the world and declining visitor numbers. Since Sept. 11, 2001, industry leaders say, the government has tended to see foreign visitors as potential threats, and the screening process reflects that view.

With BushCo's track record, here's what they'll probably end up doing to entice tourists:



BushCo just gets weirder and weirder.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Tricky Dick Cheney's New Grandchild Will Have Two Mommies

Mary Cheney and Partner Are About to Be Moms

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Wednesday, December 6, 2006; Page C03

Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter, is pregnant. She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, said a source close to the couple.

It's a baby boom for grandparents Dick and Lynne Cheney: Their older daughter, Elizabeth, went on leave as deputy assistant secretary of state before having her fifth child in July. "The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild," spokesman Lea Anne McBride said last night.

Best wishes to the happy couple on their upcoming blessed event!

Wait! Most freepers don't think the upcoming event is so "blessed" after all.

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Laugh Out Loud Alert: Republicans Plan To "Hold Democrats Accountable"

And to think that I noted in my weekly column last Friday that Republicans aren't funny!

"Republicans over the next two years will focus on holding Democrats accountable and recommitting to reforms that deliver for hardworking families."

Republican National Committee spokesman,
Danny Diaz

Here's the link to the AP story. Enjoy!


Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.

Black In Tempe? You'd Better Be A Rapper!

File this under: You Can't Make This Shit Up!

Not only did a Tempe cop make two black men perform a rap number in order to avoid a citation for littering in a mall parking lot (Hm. I thought those parking lots were private property)...

The video got aired on the cops' cable TV show, which means that someone approved it, someone edited it, and someone added it to the station's schedule.

Ariz. cop had black men rap away ticket

By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. - City leaders have apologized after a program on Tempe's cable channel showed a white police officer telling two black men they could get out of a littering ticket by performing a rap.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and Police Chief Tom Ryff apologized for the show Thursday and suspended its future production after black community leaders voiced outrage and disappointment.

"I accept responsibility for the actions of my staff and apologize to any members of our community who have been offended," Ryff said during a news conference Friday.

The segment appeared on "Tempe StreetBeat," a program produced by police in the Phoenix suburb that followed several officers on patrol. It shows Sgt. Chuck Schoville pulling over two men in August in a mall parking lot.

He first asks for a name and ID from the driver and then asks the two men if they know how much the fine is for littering.

The officer then tells the men that they can avoid getting a littering ticket "if the two of you just do a little rap about — what do you want to do a rap about? Littering? About the dangers of littering."

The two men agree, and each performs a short rap, laughing afterward. One says, "The dangers of littering, you will get a ticket. If you ain't wit' it, you better be experienced."

The second man raps, "Yo, I just got pulled over 'cause I threw my trash out the window when they rolled over. They got behind me and pulled me over."

GGGRRR!!! What's it going to take to make these Nazi Wannabes stop this shit?

Best bar bet in the world: Delilah didn't do it.
Judges 16:19-- And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.