We're the Kids in America

Before we get into the poli (many) - tics (blood sucking creatures) watch this youngster tear up his electric guitar. He's a bad ass:



Ava (great first name btw) Lowery from the A to the L (home of Bear Bryant, George Wallace and American Idol winners) has a new protest video out. Remember she's 15 y.o. Also, check out her website Peace Takes Courage.



They don't even try to hide it anymore. The Bushites are morphing this country into a totalitarian regime. Kiss your internets goodbye.

Gonzales pressures ISPs on data retention:

"U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller on Friday urged telecommunications officials to record their customers' Internet activities, CNET News.com has learned."

Gore Watch. He keeps saying he isn't running. I hope we can make it impossible for him to not run in '08. He is exactly what this country needs.

Gore: Bush is 'renegade rightwing extremist':

"Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as 'a renegade band of rightwing extremists'."

Propaganda alert... again.

Independent Online Edition > Americas:

"Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products."

And I feel so damn nostalgic…. DBT at The Fillmore Part 2

Part Deux: Click HERE for Part I

P.S. If you haven't read this yet, do so now: Monster

Here is the last paragraph from where we left off:

We climb aboard and it’s all black leather interior, LCDs playing a Waylon Jennings concert, and Cooley sittin' in the front being... well... Cooley. Rich and I introduce ourselves and take a seat. After some initial pleasantries my phone rings and I remember that I've got 2 tickets I'm suppose to give to Mark G. from the Yahoo list. Mark was in the process of following the band from New Mexico to Seattle. Mark freakin' rocks! I'm gonna do that someday. Anyway, I excused myself and made for the bus door. Before I stepped out I asked if there was a secret knock I needed to get back in. Two will do......

When I returned to the bus I sat down across from Cooley and looked at him, and I got kinda pissed. Of all the traveling and drinking and Rockin’ Cooley does he looked too damn good at his age. I decided then and there that living the Rock n’ Roll lifestyle still can’t age you like sitting in front of a computer 9 hours a day, doing the bidding of some idiot or a group of idiots.

Captain Kerr hopped on the bus and informed Cooley that the rest of the band was doing sound check. Cooley replied, "I've really got to find somebody to do soundcheck for me". But being the true trooper that he is, he headed inside and we followed.

It was really weird to be in The Fillmore before opening. But weirder yet was having DBT play a couple of songs to just Jenn, Rich and I. We got to hear Goodbye and Daylight.

After soundcheck we headed up to DBT's dressing room and hung out with the crew and band members while we watched Son Volts sound check.

Moving forward with this diatribe, I’m going to break up the weekend into sections:

Time with Cooley.

The moments with Cooley over the weekend were quite memorable as you can easily imagine. We chatted about back home, Phoenix heat (the "dry heat ain't as hot" myth was agreed to be a bunch of shit), Motown session singers, Baxendale guitars, and taking a dump in a Hefty Garbage Bag sometimes out of necessity but other times because it’s damn funny. Cooley is a prankster extraordinaire. And careful what you say around him... it might end up in a song. Now that I know the story behind "Marry Me" it's even a better song than I first tought.

The crew members just got cool new shoulder walkie-talkies. Jenn had told us earlier in the day that Cooley had been taking advantage of this new tech feature of the band to do some serious razzing. I got to witness this first hand after the Friday night show. We’re sitting in the balcony above the stage and next to DBT’s dressing room when Cooley, Patterson and The Matador come out and plop down next to us. One of the crew members had hooked a couple of groupie fishes and was batting them around in the dressing room like a cat playing with mice. Cooley gets a glint in his eye and grabs The Matador’s mike and pauses with a smile. I look at him and tell him that he’s in the Fillmore and that this better be good. Now I can’t remember the exact wording but this is Cooley so you know it was parsed in Cooley’s incredible verbage but he calls out on the mike to the crew member trying to get his groove on that they’ve found that cream they’ve been looking for and that it should take care of that incredibly bad ball rash said crew member has. “Me and Cooley we just laughed so hard be both fell down”.

Not only does Cooley do the “cool” part of his name proud, he’s a warm, engaging an all around nice fucker.

Time with Jason.

Story #1

Being a fan and immersing myself in the songs and lyrics, I have often said to myself "If I ever got the chance I'd ask Patterson/Cooley/Jason/Shonna/Brad about "X".... Well, my friends, if you ever have those thoughts, write them down. Of the gazillion things I've ever thought of to ask the band, they all flew out of my head the moment I had the chance. The d'errrrrr factor really grabs hold. However, after the Friday show Jason comes out of the dressing room and sits down with Jenn, Rich and I. I remembered one question I’ve always wanted to ask him. Since Jason studied literature at the U. of Memphis, I’ve always wanted to ask him who his favorite author/book was. His response was surprising as I expected some great southern gothic writer. His response was Salman Rushdie. We then got into a bit of a conversation about Islam and the comparison to Christian fundies in this country. Jason is a special one, let me tell you. He was tops in his high school class and had he finished college (thank god he did not) would have assuredly been Summa Cum Laude. Whip-fucking-smart.

Story #2

As I was awaiting Jenn to escort me through the side door on Saturday night, Jason comes out of the bus and says "Hey Jason". I greet him back and while contemplating my hangover from Friday that I'd yet to drink away I said, "I don't know how you guys do it every night". He laughs and takes a couple of steps then stops and turns around and says, "We can do it every night because we love it". Right there was an Almost Famous moment or even a Mean Joe Green Coke commercial moment (Hey kid, catch). Time just kinda stopped for a millisecond and all the life issues we all continuously run in the back of minds, unconsciously, disappeared and I was left with one clear nugget of knowledge. Damned whipper snapper giving me in-sight on life.

Jason's a hell of a guy who's always willing to strike up a conversation. He's destined for a lot a great things.

EZB and Shonna time. AKA, SwamperDeux
Now, the EZB remains a mystery, wrapped in a secret, dipped in secret sauce. Jenn told me that he’s as sharp as Cooley with the observations but he saves them up. He’ll be quite for a long time then BOOM, a nugget. So while I don’t have any personal stories to relate about the EZB, I can comment that he’s one of the best drummers on any stage any where.

The first time I saw Shonna I was standing at the door of the dressing room watching Son Volt do sound check. I feel someone walk up and stand beside me. I look over… then I look down and here is this wee lass with blonde hair. That’s my first impression of Shonna. She is freakin’ tiny compared to seeing her on stage and in photos. She’s as sweet as pumpkin pie and Jason is damn lucky.

I have one more installment coming.

Here are some pictures from The Rock Show.

Your daddy was mad as hell.....

This is all I'm going to say about this, but........

...Most. Talented. State. Ever.

Hello, Democrats. Perfect opportunity to reach out to those who don't normally vote for you and to show them why they should vote for you. I'm sure you'll piss away this opportunity somehow.

Global warming worries hunters, anglers:

"About half of America's hunters and anglers -- including many who said they voted for President Bush in 2004 -- told pollsters they are witnessing firsthand, in the outdoors, the effects of some form of climate change, according to the results of a nationwide survey of sportsmen released Tuesday by the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental group based in Washington, D.C."

Whaaaaah, wa-wa-Whaaaaahhhhh

Bush's Base Betrayal:

"White House and congressional Republicans seem to have adopted a one-word strategy: bribery. Buy off seniors with a prescription drug benefit. Buy off the steel industry with tariffs. Buy off agribusiness with subsidies. The cost of illegal bribery (see the case of former congressman Randy 'Duke' Cunningham) pales next to that of legal bribery such as congressional earmarks."

In a just world this should be happening every day until they're all rotting in jail. Oh, and no elections were stolen. Nothing to see here. Don't worry your pretty little heads about your vote not meaning a thing. Hey, did you catch American Idol last night.........

Former Bush campaign official sentenced to prison:

"CONCORD, New Hampshire (Reuters) - A senior official in U.S. President George W. Bush's re-election campaign was sentenced to 10 months in prison on Wednesday for his role in suppressing votes in a key U.S. Senate race, a scandal that Democrats charge may involve the White House.

James Tobin, 45, one of three Republican campaign operatives convicted in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in a 2002 election, was convicted in December of two telephone harassment charges."

"Your daddy was mad as hell. He was mad at me and you...."

Fight leads to deadly shooting:

"ZIP CITY -- A Wednesday afternoon argument over custody of a child led to the death of a man who was shot as he tried to drive away from his ex-father-in-law's house, authorities said."

Not Ready to Make Nice

Love 'em. Go buy their new record.

'Radical chicks':

“I'd rather have a smaller following of really cool people who get it,” Maguire tells TIME, “who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do.”

Here, here, Maddy!

Albright Faults Bush's Religious 'Certitude' :

"LONDON (May 22) - President Bush has alienated Muslims around the world by using absolutist Christian rhetoric to discuss foreign policy issues, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says.

'I worked for two presidents who were men of faith, and they did not make their religious views part of American policy,' she said, referring to Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Democrats and Christians."

Gore watch:

Gore: No Laughing Matter?

The only time I leave vacation days on the table is when I know that I'll get paid for them when I quit my job. Oh, and I'll quit a job. I ain't scared in that department.

Forfeiting vacation days:

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - When it comes to taking vacation days, a third of U.S. workers apparently aren't members of the clean-plate club.

A survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the travel site Expedia found that 33 percent of us leave vacation days on the table. The average number of days workers forfeit: four, up from three in last year's survey."

Have a little restraint with portions and get your ass off the couch and excercise then problemed solved. They can pry my ham hock and fried okra from my cold, dead hand.

The deep-fried dilemma: Can Southern culture survive low-fat diets?:

"Food is a strong emblem of identity for Southerners. It is one of the few cultural artifacts that both black and white Southerners embrace and hold in high esteem,'' said John Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. ``Segregation remains in many aspects of our daily lives in the South, but there is no segregation of our black-eyed peas and our collard greens.''"

McCain/Christian Right likes to Bully Girls

Before I launch into why John McCain is the biggest, arrogant piece of shit facing the electorate today, let me take a moment to spotlight one of Alabama's own:

One of Alabama's finest, Ava Lowery, bless her little heart, has created a website called Peace Takes Courage. She has produced videos opposing the war in Iraq and uses the ACTUAL teachings of Jesus as her guide. A good chunk of the country needs to look at the work of this teenager and learn how to be a REAL Christian.

For taking her stand, she is receiving death threats. Give her some love:

Peace Takes Courage - 15-yr-old gets death threats for anti-war video

"It seems that a young woman by the name of Ava Lowery, a 15-year-old from Alabama has been getting death threats for a powerful video she produced called 'WWJD' (What Would Jesus Do), a powerful animation that features a soundtrack of a child singing 'Jesus loves me, this I know' while one picture after another of a wounded, bloody, or screaming Iraqi child fills the screen. The video ends with quotations from Beatitudes, including, 'Blessed are they who mourn' and 'Blessed are the meek' and 'Blessed are the merciful' and 'Blessed are the peacemakers.'

Lowery began producing her own videos for her web site in July of 2005 and has thusfar made 70 of them. Not everyone agrees with her, as you might figure, especially the terrorist wing of the Republican party. You see, Ava has been receiving vile death threats.

If you haven't heard, McCain recently spoke at the graduation commencement of the New School. While there, a graduating student kindly handed Mr. McCain his ass back to him after she tore it off:

McCain Gets His Ass Handed to Him:

"'Senator McCain will also tell us about his strong-headed self-assuredness in his youth, which prevented him from hearing the ideas of others, and in so doing he will imply that those of us who are young are too na�ve to have valid opinions.

'I am young, and although I don't profess to possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that pre-emptive war is dangerous and wrong,' she said."

The student in question is Jean Rohe. She made quite the sensation and after the speech explained her actions:

Jean Rohe: Why I Spoke Up

Just a regular gal who stood up for what she believed.

One of McCain's minions decided to bash her and bash her good:

Top McCain Aide Insults Entire College Graduating Class...

Takes a big man to insult a bunch of kids. Jean ain't backing down, though:

Jean Rohe: Response to McCain's Aide Mark Salter:

"Please don't try to bully me anymore"

I thinking of doing this myself so hacks like Bill Frist can't look at a video tape and diagnose me as a vibrant human being that should be kept on life support when 3/4 of my brain is missing. I don't want to be no Terri Schiavo:

Woman Gets 'Do Not Resuscitate' Tattoo:

"Mary Wohlford has made it perfectly clear what her final wishes are: it's written in ink — on her chest. Wohlford, 80, had the words 'DO NOT RESUSCITATE' tattooed on her chest in February.

Wohlford hopes she's made her wishes perfectly clear should she become incapacitated. She also has a living will hanging on the side of her refrigerator."

Of Horseshit and Ponies

Monday morning comedy. If you ever needed a laugh today is the day:



Now, onto the horseshit:

With All This Horseshit:

"Line ‘em up and show us the results. Let’s have the perp walk of all the al Qaedas, all the al Qaeda caller uppers you’ve located, investigated, caught, apprehended and brought to trial! With all this horseshit there must be a whole herd of ponies."

So sorry:

McIntyre in the Morning:

"There’s nothing harder in public life than admitting you’re wrong. By the way, admitting you’re wrong can be even tougher in private life. If you don’t believe me, just ask Bill Clinton or Charlie Sheen. But when you go out on the limb in public, it’s out there where everyone can see it, or in my case, hear it.

So, I’m saying today, I was wrong to have voted for George W. Bush. In historic terms, I believe George W. Bush is the worst two-term President in the history of the country. Worse than Grant. I also believe a case can be made that he’s the worst President, period."

Hate the player and the game:

SurveyUSA - 50 State POTUS 05/06

Pants are ablaze!

How Republicans Lie About the Economy

Look, ladies, I don't care how freakin' mad you get, this just isn't cool under any circumstances. They should have executed Loraina Bobbett as an example. Dudes, you may want to look away....

Wife Accused in Attack:

"The 52-year-old Tioga-Nicetown man, who we are identifying only by his first name of Howard, arrived home late Wednesday, hours after his wife allegedly tore off two parts of his genitalia with her bare hands. Surgeons at Einstein successfully managed to repair the damage."

And I feel so damn nostalgic…. DBT at The Fillmore Part 1

Part I

And I feel so damn nostalgic….

Thursday, May 4, 2006:

I left work early to do some last minute shopping to acquire all the goodies needed for the pending weekend of Rock. I got home early that evening with thoughts of getting a good nights sleep because I had a suspicion sleep would be a rare commodity until Sunday. Me and old Jack Daniels would become acquainted once again. With all prepared and in place I lay me down to sleep. Then that feeling hit. The one when you're 5 years old and its Christmas eve and you're just too damn excited to fall asleep. You stare at the ceiling dreaming with eyes wide open of all the possible gifts you might receive the next morning. You start to catalogue and categorize them. ("I hope I get the Shut Your Mouth and Get on the Plane set"). Gifts you feel pretty solid will be under the tree... ("I hope I get the Be My Valentine drum set so I can break the kick pedal in two.") and then those gifts that you really want but don't want to get too excited about because they're such a long shot Santy probably couldn't fit them on the sleigh ("A Tonka Bulldozers & Dirt would be sooooooo sweet"). It's OK if you don't get them but you really, really want them.

"You better watch out. You better not cry, you better not pout I'm tellin' you why", MotherFucking DBT is coming to town!

I have the occasional bout of insomnia and the sleepless nights are torture. You watch each hour pass on the clock feeling more miserable with each tick because it's another lost hour of sleep. Thursday night was quite the opposite. I spent the night trying to find some hidden super power that would allow me to mentally move the clock faster so the sun would come up quick because I had a very important task Friday morning.

The first gift of the day was being delivered by United Airlines via Athens, Georgia. This delivery was an important one and, unbeknownst at the time, one that would become very special. My first gift was to finally get to meet Jenn Bryant when I picked her up from the airport. I had invited Jenn out to San Francisco and she took me up on the offer. I've always admired Jenn for the enormous amount of work she puts into the band, her deft touch at dealing we knuckle-draggers on the lists, her southern charm, and the fact she is a home girl. I've been keeping an eye on the member counter of the Yahoo group and kept a finger to the pulse of the frenzy of questions and demands before the album came out. Jenn has a regular job like the rest of us and she does this for love. Of all the places in the world to see DBT the Fillmore is THE place. It would have been a goddamn shame if Jenn wasn't here to see her band. I invited her out... she accepted, and the rest, as they say, is history....

(Jenn on the bus)

History lesson....

May 5, 2006: Met Jenn at baggage claim.... we sniffed each others butts.... then “we'ze just like peas and care-rots”. I took Jenn on a drive around the coast and through the Golden Gate. We stopped periodically to check out the views.

After the B.A.A.T. (Bay Area Appreciation Tour) we went to my friend Rich's apartment situated a block from the Fillmore. This would be base camp for the next couple of days. After spending some time getting acquainted we headed out to get some lunch at Harry's on Fillmore. When we got to Fillmore and Geary we noticed the bus had arrived with road cases full of Rock and/or Roll. All of a sudden we hear a gravely voice call out "Jenn"! We turned around and it was none other than Patterson Hood with two arms full of coffee. I'm not kidding when I say two arms full of coffee. Somehow he was carrying about 6 cups of joe. By the way Patterson looked, I think all six were for him. He wasn't sharin'. I mumbled some sort of dumbass greeting to Patterson and then stood there with a goofy ass smile. I'm the freakin' man, let me tell you. We also briefly met Ryan (Silky) and Matt (The Matador), two members of the crew.

So there we had surreal moment #1 of a bazillion that happened that weekend. Jenn, Rich and I proceeded to Harry's where we had some Kobe Burgers and several adult beverages. It was Cinco de Mayo and the bartender handed us some shiny beads for the occasion. Rich and I would attempt to put those beads to good use later in the evening.

"He's got his own room in the back of the bus....."

Jenn says we can watch sound check so we head up to the Fillmore. When we get to the bus Jenn tells us to stay put while she pops in to get our passes. Never would I have imagined a cloth sticker could make one feel so cool. Wore that shit like a badge of honor:

After about 2 minutes Jenn sticks her head out and waves Rich and I into the bus. GULP!

We climb aboard and it’s all black leather interior, LCDs playing a Waylon Jennings concert, and Cooley sittin' in the front being... well... Cooley. Rich and I introduce ourselves and take a seat. After some initial pleasantries my phone rings and I remember that I've got 2 tickets I'm suppose to give to Mark G. from the Yahoo list. Mark was in the process of following the band from New Mexico to Seattle. Mark freakin' rocks! I'm gonna do that someday. Anyway, I excused myself and made for the bus door. Before I stepped out I asked if there was a secret knock I needed to get back in. Two will do......

(Here's where I end Part I. Check back next week for Part II)

(One of the beautiful chandeliers in the Fillmore)

(A picture of Jim Morrison hanging next to the bar)

(..for those about to Rock)

White Christian Males own your Vagina.

The killing of Americans continues. Support our troops. Get them out of Iraq

4 U.S. Soldiers Are Killed by Bomb in Iraq:

"Four U.S. soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were killed Thursday when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. command said"

History repeats itself in the worst possible manner. Does My Lai ring a bell? It ain't the troops fault. It's the commander in chief's.

Marines deliberately killed Iraqi:

“This one is ugly,' one official told NBC News."

Come on, Al! Do it, do it, doit doit doit.

Is Al Gore Running for President Again?:

"'For some people, it took six years of George Bush to wake up and realize that Al Gore was the real deal,' Sullivan said."

Ladies, you no longer own your vaginas. They have been claimed for the state. Read Atwood's Handmaind's Tale.

Forever Pregnant:

"New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.

Yeah, he's overreaching for that bottle of Jack Daniels and a straw that's been cut in two.

Is Bush Overreaching?:

"These are extraordinary times, for sure, and the president says he is acting to safeguard the country. But Democrats and some Republicans, along with human rights activists and legal scholars, suggest Bush has gone too far in stretching presidential powers."

Tar Baby

The Press Secretary for the POTUS used the term "tar baby" in his first televised press conference. Let me repeat that: Tony Snow, speaking for the POTUS, used the term "tar baby". Today he will say "nigga" because that's not racist without the "er" and when he speaks on immigration he'll refer to Mexicans as wetbacks, because, well, Bush thinks it's funny.

I'm from the South and I'd never use the term "tar baby".

"I can see your truuuue colors shining through..."

Crooks and Liars

When I heard Tony Snow use the term "tar baby" while responding to a question in his first televised Press conference today, it actually startled me. Doesn't Tony understand what that phrase means to many people in this country

How low can he go?

Republican Leadership Approval Hits All-Time Low:

"Bush's job approval rating now stands at 33 percent, down five percentage points in barely a month and a new low in Post-ABC polls. His current standing with the public is identical to his father's worst showing in the Post-ABC poll before he lost his reelection bid to Bill Clinton in 1992. Bush's father fell below 30 percent in some other independent polls in 1992."

Always room to go a little lower....

Zogby International:

"This as the President’s overall job approval numbers fall to 32%, according to a separate Zogby International survey conducted via telephone before the immigration speech Monday."

I've blogged about this before and in light of recent developments it is highly important that you give your congressperson a call on this. The big telecoms didn't violate your right to privacy for nothing. They did it 'cause Georgie told them he'd give them control of the internets. Don't let it happen!!! Educate yourself, then act. Picking up a phone or sending an email ain't that hard.

Save the Internet : Fighting for Internet Freedom

Bears Eat Monkey in Front of Zoo Visitors

This is so bad. I can't understand why people are taking to the streets over this. This is not up for debate nor should be pondered in some sort of pols. It... is... unconstitutional. There is no difference between Bush's spying and what the KGB use to do. I don't give a fuck if god herself takes a poll and it shows 89% approval of domestic spying. Temporary insanity should not alter the Constitution. Spying on a reporters sources so they can punish whistle blowers is evil. Fucked... up!

The Blotter: "Federal Source to ABC News: We Know Who You're Calling

A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.

'It's time for you to get some new cell phones, quick,' the source told us in an in-person conversation."

If you have a Verizon phone, you should be sure to follow this class action. They owe you $1000 for breaking the law and giving all of your call information to the Bush Brown Shirts.

Verizon stock takes hit on $50 billion lawsuit - May. 15, 2006

You want to trust this putz and his cabal of putzs on anthing, why?

Our MBA president can't manage the government:

"In practice, Bush tends to appoint mediocre people he trusts to be loyal, delegates hardly any decision-making power to anyone beyond a few top aides, and seldom holds anyone accountable."

You can't fault the bear. I mean, come on, who doesn't crave a little monkey meat every once in a while. That shit is tasty. And besides, rumor has it the monkey had 3 paws and fucked with all the bears relentlessly. You reap what you sow, monkey motherfucker.

Bears Eat Monkey in Front of Zoo Visitors:

"Bears killed and ate a monkey in a Dutch zoo in front of horrified visitors, witnesses and the zoo said Monday. In the incident Sunday at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park, several Sloth bears chased the Barbary macaque into an electric fence, where it was stunned."

What Should Have Been.... And What Was....

Check out the video of President Gore on this week's SNL. What if... what if....

President Gore on SNL

If you haven't heard about Gore's new film on global warming, go educate yourself now!

An Inconvenient Truth

Here's a link to find when it will playing in a city near you:

An Inconvenient Truth > About the Film

Well, well, well. Looks like folks DON'T want to have a beer with Bush. They'd rather have one with Clinton. The choice is rather simple. Hang out with Bush and you get a bad drunk who'll do all your coke then pick unnecessary fights, getting you both thrown out of the bar. OR, hang out with Clinton who can hold his liquor and can probably drive you home afterwards but more than likely Clinton will pick up a couple of stewardesses, then its back to their hotel room for a little slap and tickle. Bush = possible night in jail. Clinton = roll in the hay with a stewardess.

Poll: Clinton outperformed Bush:

"-- In a new poll comparing President Bush's job performance with that of his predecessor, a strong majority of respondents said President Clinton outperformed Bush on a host of issues."

Goddamn illegal bat immigrants, coming over our borders and drinking out white children's blood. We need to build a giant wall 10 miles high to stop these dern illegal bats. These illegal bats are taking away the blood sucking business that rightfully belongs to the Republicans.

Texas teenager dies of rabies from bat bite:

"A Texas teenager who was bitten by a bat while he slept in his home has died of rabies, the Houston hospital that treated him said in a statement.

Zachary Jones, 16, died on Friday, a week after he became ill from the bat bite he received about a month before"

Not Today.... But its gonna be good.

Folks, unfortunately, I'm not finished with the DBT Fillmore review and pictures. I've been pulling 14 hour work days since last weekend, and while I've gotten a lot of work done on the post, it just ain't ready yet. I've still got more writing and editing to do. I'll get it done this weekend and have it posted the start of next week.

Here's a tease, though. A pic of Son Volt playing from the balcony of DBT's dressing room:

And here's a pic of Curt Kirkwood opening the Saturday show:

And as an added tease my review of the DBT Fillmore shows will include such topics as Salman Rushdie, finding the right cream for a ball sack rash, and one 6 dollar haircut.

Here are some articles of interest for the day:

The start of the under 30% polls:

Bush’s Approval Rating Drops:

"President Bush’s job-approval rating has fallen to its lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. Of 1,003 U.S. adults surveyed in a telephone poll, 29% think Mr. Bush is doing an “excellent or pretty good” job as president, down from 35% in April and significantly lower than 43% in January."

Must see video of CNN's Jack Cafferty regarding the bombshell domestic spying news released yesterday:

Crooks and Liars:

"Cafferty: We all hope nothing happens to Arlen Specter, the Republican head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, cause he might be all that stands between us and a full blown dictatorship in this country."

File under "No Shit"!!

Men Pay the Ultimate Price to Attract Women:

"While it is tough to be a woman, being a man can be downright deadly.

Women live longer than men. And now scientists suggest a simple Darwinian reason: Competing for a mate can wear a guy out or get him killed."

I always feel like, somebody's watching me....

Feel safer? Limited in scope my ass. Everytime I get off the phone now, I won't be saying "goodbye". I'll be saying "Fuck you, Bush".

NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls:

"'It's the largest database ever assembled in the world,' said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is 'to create a database of every call ever made' within the nation's borders, this person added."

The headline for this article should just be "Did the medial miss the real story". The anwer is yes... to everything. Stop watching television/corporate news. Join the rest of us. Don't get left behind!

Did media miss real Colbert story?:

"This is trouble for the media. It has been losing customers to bloggers and Web sites for years. This won't help. The media's implosion of silence could be one of the final reasons many liberals use to not turn on TV news. It's not like they feel a vested interest in the industry anyway, since it has been bought and parceled by conservatives."

His castle stank of cat-shit and cover-up.

Secret Service Logs Show 2 Abramoff Visits:

"WASHINGTON - Secret Service records made public Wednesday show that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff went to the White House twice in the past five years, omitting three other occasions that have been acknowledged by the Bush administration."

These are way cooler than a Prius.

DNA Tests Confirm Bear Was a Hybrid:

"...he proposed that a strange-looking bear shot last month by an American sports hunter might be half polar bear, half grizzly."

George Jones... You better leave that cell phone alone...

Watching this historic slide would be fun if he wasn't taking us all with him. Hindenburg, indeed.

Bush's Public Approval at New Low Point:

"Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father, George H. W. Bush, in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. That is the third lowest approval rating of any president in 50 years; only Richard M. Nixon and Jimmy Carter were viewed less favorably."

Fucking crooks. Give your loyalty oath to Bush/Hitler or you don't get any gov funds.

Housing Sec. Canceled Contract Because Contractor Criticized Bush, Apparently Violating Law:

“He made a heck of a proposal and was on the (General Services Administration) list, so we selected him. He came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something … he said, ‘I have a problem with your president.’

“I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘I don’t like President Bush.’ I thought to myself, ‘Brother, you have a disconnect — the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn’t be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don’t tell the secretary.’

“He didn’t get the contract,” Jackson continued."

Oh, and Jackson's response once he was call out on this: "I was lying". A true Bushite. Either a liar or a criminal. Probably both:

Jackson Fabricated the Entire Story, Spokesperson Claims, Contradicting Prior Response

Isn't this kinda like saying a fish fell in the water today and got wet?

Keith Richards could suffer brain damage:

"WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Doctors are concerned Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards could suffer from brain damage after undergoing two surgeries following a fall while holidaying in Fiji, the New Zealand Herald reported on Wednesday."

"If you don't change your ways, my friend, you'll be singing duets with Tammy again".

Man Arrested for Drunken Mower Driving:

"Police have arrested a man accused of operating lawnmower while drunk. Dondi Bowles, 50, was arrested about 9:45 p.m. Friday as he drove the mower on a sidewalk."

Gravity's Gone

Bush has been falling so long he must feel like gravity's gone... but he ain't floatin'

Bush approval rating hits new low:

"President Bush's approval rating has slumped to 31% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the lowest of his presidency and a warning sign for Republicans in the November elections."

My jeebus, what a loser. Worst... President.... Ever.

Bush & Nixon photo finish

They have no substance. Only spin and p.r. When you're trying to spin Iraq positiviely and you're using the freakin' USDA to do it.... you're hurtin'.

The USDA on Iraq: Everything's Coming Up Rosy:

"Career appointees at the Department of Agriculture were stunned last week to receive e-mailed instructions that include Bush administration 'talking points' -- saying things such as 'President Bush has a clear strategy for victory in Iraq' -- in every speech they give for the department.

'The President has requested that all members of his cabinet and sub-cabinet incorporate message points on the Global War on Terror into speeches, including specific examples of what each agency is doing to aid the reconstruction of Iraq,' the May 2 e-mail from USDA speechwriter Heather Vaughn began."

See how 3 different presidents answered the question "What is/was your greatest accomplishment in office.

rubber hose: great moments in history

Get up, stand up. Don't give up the fight...

Feingold: Democrats Must Stand Up to Bush:

"WASHINGTON - Sen. Russ Feingold, a potential anti-war candidate in the 2008 presidential field, urged fellow Democrats on Monday to show more backbone in challenging President Bush onIraq.

'We must get out of our political foxholes and be willing to clearly and specifically point out what a strategic error the Iraq invasion has been,' Feingold, D-Wis., told a National Press Club audience."

Please, please, please, please, please......

Al Gore Might Yet Join 2008 Contenders

Fuck it. Just leave everybody behind.

Half of Teachers Quit in 5 Years:

"'The kids were wonderful to be with, but the stress of everything that went with it and the low pay did not make it hard to leave,' she said. 'It's sad because you see a lot of the teachers that are young and gung-ho are ready to leave.'"

Rock Stars - A Prelude

I'm still recovering from the Shock and Awe campaign that was unleashed upon the Fillmore this weekend by a band that seems to be taking it as a personal mission to live up to the critics coinage of "The Greatest Rock Band". Here's a picture then a a couple of articles of interest on Shrub and cool new cars. I'll be back to politics tomorrow but on Friday I'll have a special post with pictures from the DBT Fillmore shows.

Ex-CIA analyst condemns Bush 'manipulation campaign' on Iraq:

"MADRID (AFP) - A former Middle East specialist of the US Central Intelligence Agency has condemned what he called an organised campaign of manipulation by the Bush administration to justify the Iraq war"

Detroit's Mr. Car Guy says driving is dead:

"Recently I sat down with the editors of FORTUNE for a chat, and a question they asked was, 'Are we anywhere near the day you can climb into a car on Long Island, program it to take you to your niece's house in Chicago, hit enter and execute, and after the first 100 yards, once you hit a thoroughfare, the car takes over automatically and you just sit back and enjoy the ride?'

It is a question I dread. But I had to answer truthfully: 'Absolutely. We are without a doubt near that day.'"

DBT Week in Review - 4/26 - 5/5

Gonna be a short and early one this week. DBT comes to town tomorrow. "I got my tickets" and it better not get cancelled!

Ninebullets gives us Dress Blues, the most searched term for folks who have found this site over the past week. Beautiful, important song:

Nine Bullets - Download Jason's new song 'Dress Blues'

One of Patterson's heros talks about one of DBT favorite places:

Springsteen Expresses New Orleans' Pain:

"With that, he launched into a song titled 'How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?' and dedicated the song to 'President Bystander.' Its lyrics included the lines: 'There's bodies floatin' on Canal and the levees gone to hell ... them who's got out of town, and them who ain't got left to drown, tell me, how can a poor man stand such times and live?'"

Here's a great video interview of Patterson and Jason.

A video of the band performing "Goodbye" in Starkville:

YouTube - Drive By Truckers -"Goodbye"

Protest music is coming from all over these days. Here's Neil Young's new album:

NEIL YOUNG - Living With War

Music that sucks so bad that its good:

The worst song of all time:

"Several people nominated Starship's 'We Built This City,' a No. 1 hit from 1985 that was also named Blender magazine's worst song everexternal link. CNN Pipeline copy editor James Dinan put it best: 'I got a laugh when I read that the original intent of this song was to be a statement against cracking down on artistic freedom. I'd support such a crackdown if it means this song will never be played again.'

The Starland Vocal Band's 'Afternoon Delight' got a few votes, as did Billy Ray Cyrus' 'Achy Breaky Heart,' Mr. Mister's 'Broken Wings' and Don Johnson's 'Heartbeat.' ('Broken Wings' succeeded 'We Built This City' as No. 1 by a few weeks; obviously, late 1985 was a golden age for bad songs.)"

That's all for this week, folks. I'll try to do some picture posting over the weekend of the shows at the Fillmore so check back!

Picture of a Sunset from my balcony

Worst or THE Worst

If you like the internets then you better clue in to what's happening in D.C. Basically the polis want to give control of the net to the big tele corps. They, then, can essentially rip it apart. The internet as we know it today would cease to exist.

Keeping a Democratic Web:

"'Net neutrality' is a concept that is still unfamiliar to most Americans, but it keeps the Internet democratic. Cable and telephone companies that provide Internet service are talking about creating a two-tiered Internet, in which Web sites that pay them large fees would get priority over everything else. Opponents of these plans are supporting Net-neutrality legislation, which would require all Web sites to be treated equally. Net neutrality recently suffered a setback in the House, but there is growing hope that the Senate will take up the cause.

One of the Internet's great strengths is that a single blogger or a small political group can inexpensively create a Web page that is just as accessible to the world as Microsoft's home page. But this democratic Internet would be in danger if the companies that deliver Internet service changed the rules so that Web sites that pay them money would be easily accessible, while little-guy sites would be harder to access, and slower to navigate. Providers could also block access to sites they do not like."

Really, could Bush be any dumber?

Administration Is Singing More Than One Tune on Spanish Version of Anthem:

"President Bush declared last week that the national anthem should be sung in English not Spanish, but he evidently never told his own government or campaign organizations.

The State Department posts four Spanish versions of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' on its Web site, and accounts from the 2000 election suggest that the song was at times performed in Spanish at Bush campaign events. Critics even turned up one reference to Bush himself singing the anthem in Spanish on the trail, but there was no confirmation."

Goddamn science with its facts and proofs. Jesus doesn't like facts and proof.

Study Reconciles Data in Measuring Climate Change:

"A government study released yesterday undermines one of the key arguments of climate change skeptics, concluding there is no statistically significant conflict between measures of global warming on the earth's surface and in the atmosphere."

Take Doonesbury's Presidential Poll.

Doonesbury - The Strawpoll

Thank god for Stephen Colbert

The President and the press got their asses handed to them at the White House Correspondents Dinner by Mr. Stephen Colbert. Did you hear about it in the mainstream news? Read about it in the mainstream newspapers? Probably not, because they hardly made any mention of it. Colbert gave the keynote speech in character. Here's a taste and remember Bush is sitting mere feet away from him:

Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.

Check out the entire trascript:
Re-Improved Colbert transcript

Here's another snippet:

I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.

Jon Stewart gave his old employee some love for the performance:

Jon Stewart on Colbert's Dinner Speech:

"NEW YORK Probably to no one's surprise, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's 'Daily Show,' hailed the performance of his stablemate Stephen Colbert at Saturday night's White House Correspondents dinner. Colbert's lampooning of the president and the press has generated a good deal of praise and criticism.

'It was balls-alicious,' Stewart said. 'Apparently he was under the impression that they'd hired him to do what he does every night on television' -- that is, make fun of conservatives, public officials, and the press in the guise of an O'Reillyesque talk show host.

'We've never been prouder of him, but HOLY ----,' Stewart added."

Here's what some folks are saying about the performance:

Culture Blog!:

"Bush glowered. Laura looked confused. Scott McClellan was like a dead deer caught in the headlights. Many of the journalists, celebs, ranking generals and other 'notables' at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner laughed openly, albeit uncomfortably, as Stephen Colbert of 'The Colbert Report' just made himself about 500 times more of a national treasure and cemented himself as one of the most fearless satirists of this generation (instantly outpacing Jon Stewart, who, you get the feeling, wouldn't have had the nerve to go as far as Colbert did) by way of a savage and hilarious roast/takedown of President Bush, who was seated not eight feet away.

Have you heard? Did you see? You simply must. It was a revelation."

White House Briefing:

"Colbert was merciless, reserving his most potent zingers for the people in spitting distance: The president who took the nation to war on false pretenses and the press corps that let him do it.

The boozy bonhomie of the annual event is intended to serve as a balm for the often tense relationship between the White House and the reporters who cover it.

Bush largely delivered on his side of the bargain. Colbert delivered something else entirely."

Here's a couple more snippets. It's just too good:

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

and...

So the White House has personnel changes. Then you write, "Oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!

Go to the following site and leave Colbert a thank you message for sticking it to the man and the corporate shills called the press:

Thank You Stephen Colbert.

A couple of sucky polls for the Pole in Chief.

34 - Sour news for GOP in poll

Poll: Gas Prices, Iraq Weigh Down Bush - CBS News:

"(CBS) With gas prices sky-high and no end of the Iraq war in sight, President George W. Bush's approval rating hits an all-time low in a new CBS News poll.

Only 33 percent approve of his job performance, Mr. Bush's lowest approval rating yet in CBS News polls. A majority – 58 percent of those polled – say they disapprove of the president. Mr. Bush appears to be losing support from his own party. His approval rating among Republicans has dropped to 68 percent."

I left my heart.... In San Francisco

Bush DECIDES to not follow the law of the land. Criminal.

Bush challenges hundreds of laws:

"WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Article Tools

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower' protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research."

Bush didn't want an independent counsel to look at Katrina so they put together a bogus congressional committee. Ooops. Bogus committe says Bush sucks.

Katrina Report Rips the White House Anew:

"The bipartisan investigation into one of the worst natural disasters in the nation's history singled out President Bush and the White House as appearing indifferent to the devastation until two days after the storm hit."

Gleen Greenwald is becoming the voice of the fact-based movement. He has a new book out called How Would a Patriot Act. Buy it!

Anatomy of the "thought" process of Bush defenders:

"As much as anything else, Bush defenders are characterized by an increasingly absolutist refusal to recognize any facts which conflict with their political desires, and conversely, by a borderline-religious embrace of any assertions which bolster those desires. It's a world-view which conflates desire with reality, disregards all facts and evidence that conflict with the decreed beliefs, and faithfully embraces any assertions and fantasies, no matter how baseless and flagrantly false, provided that they bolster the mythology."
......
It never matters how much evidence arises demonstrating the falsity of these beliefs. They are not susceptible to challenge or reconsideration because they are the by-product of faith and desire and not a critical or rational assessment. They believe these things because they want to believe them, they have to believe them, because the whole world-view on which their identity and purpose has come to be based -- the brave, heroic President leading the great conservative nation in glorious, epic war-triumph over the evil Muslim enemy -- depends upon believing these myths. No facts can shake these beliefs because they aren't grounded in facts and aren't the by-product of rationality.
....
This intellectually corrupt syndrome goes back a long way and has been festering for a long time. Nuggets of deceitful, fact-free fantasy get planted in some cesspool like Drudge and then mindless followers who want to believe it start repeating it as fact, and then it gets ossified forever as conventional wisdom and can never be dislodged from their minds. That's how Al Gore came to "claim that he invented the Internet," how Howard Dean became a far left radical pacifist, how Jessica Lynch had a heroic shoot-out with Al Qaeda and was then rescued by gun-blazing Marines, how Moveon.org produced commercials saying that Bush was Hitler, how Saddam funded Al Qaeda and personally participated in the planning of 9/11. It's even how the lesbian, Hillary, killed Vince Foster in order to ensure that their affair (or whitewater crimes or drug-running landing strip) would be kept quiet and, to this day, it's how Bill Clinton was a wildly unpopular president.

Please, please, please, Al....

Will Gore Challenge Hillary in 2008?:

"“This guy is running the best campaign I’ve seen for president."

Film documenting Golden Gate Bridge suicides premieres:

"Always alone, they pace, hang their heads, linger just a bit too long. Some cry, jam hands into pockets, pull jackets tighter around them. They remove sunglasses, backpacks and purses.

And with traffic and tourists rushing past, they climb over the four-foot railing and jump off the Golden Gate Bridge."

Letter to the Editor - Southern Style

Welcome to TimesDaily.com:

Alternate headline

Your front page headline for April 25 (Gas prices giving GOP headache) didn't quite cover all the bases. As an alternative headline, I would like to suggest:

'Most incompetent president in history orders CIA to fake evidence, which leads to invasion of nation with the second-largest oil reserves on Earth so draft-dodging vice president can present no-bid contract to his Halliburton cronies, which enables them to make war profits from the lives of the finest soldiers in the world while oil companies gleefully exploit the situation by screwing over working Americans with record gasoline prices, and as fat, draft-dodging, pill freak right-wing loon radio talk-show host impugns the patriotism of anyone who dares to disagree.'

Wayne *****

Florence, Al