This Buds not for You

Almost missed this one due to Trojan King.

Fellow blogger Roger at Legal Schnauzer who works... or I should say worked... at my alma mater UAB was recently fired for expressing his First Amendment rights.

Alabama US Attorney denies any involvement in university editor's termination:

"The abrupt dismissal of a veteran University of Alabama employee who blogged about the firing of seven US Attorneys has added a bizarre new twist to allegations that the state's US Attorneys targeted political opponents for prosecution.

Roger Shuler -- a high-profile blogger and leading critic of Alabama's judicial system -- has written extensively about alleged corruption among U.S. Attorneys for over a year. In particular, Shuler focused on two US Attorneys from his home state: Alice H. Martin of the Northern District and Leura G. Canary of the Middle District"

Shuler's initial goal as a blogger -- at his personal blog, Legal Schnauzer -- was to expose the corruption of a local lawyer and his allies in the local judiciary, he says. His posts decried the tactics of Alice Martin, US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. Martin attempted unsuccessfully to prosecute Don Siegelman for allegations of attempted bid-rigging in 2004, only to have the case dismissed with prejudice.

Rogers doing great work and if you feel like supporting him he's got some names and numbers to call in his link below.

Legal Schnauzer: The Power of a Raw Story:

"If you ever hear anyone say something like, 'I don't really think Web sites and other forms of 'new media' make much of a difference in journalism,' please send them my way.

I will straighten them out.

Since Raw Story on Friday afternoon broke the story about my termination from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), traffic on Legal Schnauzer has more than tripled from what I would normally see on a Friday and Saturday. And that's on a weekend in the middle of summer vacation season."

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Even the Chinese are taking Schnauzer off the menu

Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics

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In crappy American beer news.

This Bud Might Not Be for Them - WSJ.com:

"ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Moore took the news that his beloved Budweiser could soon fall into foreign hands very personally: He decided he would scrap his plan to get the logo of the King of Beers tattooed on his right rib cage.

'I'll tell you one thing,' said the 21-year-old concrete worker during his lunch break at The Brick of St. Louis bar, in the shadow of this city's storied Anheuser-Busch Cos. brewery, 'if Budweiser is made by a different country, I don't drink Budweiser anymore. I'll go back to Wild Turkey.' (Wild Turkey, a Kentucky bourbon, is owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard SA.)"

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But there could be an upside. I loves me some Stella.

U.S. beer drinkers could toast Anheuser takeover :

"NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Beer drinkers could reap some unexpected short-term benefits as Anheuser-Busch's 'King of Beers' becomes a vassal in a much larger empire run by Belgium's InBev.

Once InBev's $52 billion takeover of Anheuser gets approved, it will be able to use Anheuser's far-reaching U.S. distribution network to sell its own beers, introducing brews such as Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe and Staropramen to drinkers across the United States.

'That could be one of the secret upsides' to this deal, said Harry Schuhmacher, editor and publisher of Beer Business Daily. 'You can get a Stella anywhere in New York, but you can't get one anywhere in San Antonio"

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Heart ons and Mindlessness

Fredo has left the building.... or has he?

Maybe he doesn't recall?

Daily Kos: Gonzales Does Not Remember Resigning:

"Washington, Aug. 27 (crAP) -- Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, five minutes after having submitted his resignation to President George W. Bush, was asked by a passer-by whether the rumor was true that he had resigned. 'I have no memory of having submitted such a letter or of having any conversation with the President about anything at all,' Mr. Gonzales replied. The former Attorney General immediately returned to his office at the Department of Justice, though he could not remember what he was supposed to do there."

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Why does Rove leave one week and Fredo leave the next? Could it be a little something called oversight? Hmmm? Maybe a little check and a little balance? Hmm, hmmm?

Yeah, something is amiss.

Fired attorney: Rove, Gonzales resignations 'absolutely linked':

"Like President Bush's top political adviser, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned to avoid encroaching Congressional investigations, a fired federal prosecutor said Monday. During an appearance on CNN, former US Attorney David Iglesias said Gonzales's resignation is 'absolutely linked with Karl Rove leaving two weeks ago,' and speculated the two resigned 'for the same reason': Congressional investigators closing in on their suspected roles in the attorney-firing scandal. 'This is what happens when there is not check and balance' under a Republican-controlled Congress and White House 'and all of a sudden you have a new sheriff in town - so to speak - that wants answers to hard questions.'"

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What the hell is it with Republicans and anonymous, public-bathroom, gay sex prostitution?

Its like a dog with cat shit.

We should call it "Getting your Republican On".

GOP Senator Larry Craig arrested in 'bathroom incident':

"According to Roll Call (subscription required) Idaho GOP Senator Larry Craig was arrested in June in a Minnesota airport public bathroom during an investigation into 'lewd conduct' in the facility."

But he's not gay and it was all a big misunderstanding, right?

Here's what Craig said about Bill Clinton (Democrat who likes the ladies) back in the day.

Election Central | Talking Points Memo:

"MR. RUSSERT: Larry Craig, would you want the last word from the Senate be an acquittal of the president and no censure?
'
SEN. CRAIG: Well, I don't know where the Senate's going to be on that issue of an up or down vote on impeachment, but I will tell you that the Senate certainly can bring about a censure reslution and it's a slap on the wrist. It's a, 'Bad boy, Bill Clinton. You're a naughty boy.' The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy, a naughty boy. I'm going to speak out for the citizens of my state, who in the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy. The question issue now is simply this: Did he lie under oath? Did he perjure himself and did he obstruct justice? And that's where we're trying to go now in this truth-seeking process."

"Bad boy, Mr. Clinton"?!?

Craig is practically masturbating in front of pumpkin head... I mean Tim Russert.

Damn, repression and self hatred and living in a closet and the heights of hypocrisy will f a man up inside.

Pretty sweet bigoted voting record you got their Craig.

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Not that there's a damn thing wrong with it. Been doin' it for years and years and years.

Gay Unions Sanctioned in Medieval Europe:

"Civil unions between male couples existed around 600 years ago in medieval Europe, a historian now says.

Historical evidence, including legal documents and gravesites, can be interpreted as supporting the prevalence of homosexual relationships hundreds of years ago, said Allan Tulchin of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. If accurate, the results indicate socially sanctioned same-sex unions are nothing new, nor were they taboo in the past. “Western family structures have been much more varied than many people today seem to realize,' Tulchin writes in the September issue of the Journal of Modern History. 'And Western legal systems have in the past made provisions for a variety of household structures.”"

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Jeeeeeeez.

Armed guard found asleep at nuke plant:

"WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A federal inspector found an armed guard asleep at a gate inside the Indian Point nuclear power plants but officials said Monday there was no security breach. ADVERTISEMENT The inspector spent two minutes trying to rouse the unnamed guard Sunday afternoon before the guard 'stood up and opened his eyes,' said Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

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Ooooooy. Hearts and Minds, y'all.

Could it be any more apparent that the folks in charge have absolutely no freakin' clue.

US military regrets Afghan football 'insult':

"The US military in Afghanistan expressed regret Monday after footballs it distributed kicked off a storm of protest because they bore Koranic verses as part of the flag of Saudi Arabia. The US-led coalition on Friday dropped toys, including soccer balls, into the eastern province of Khost from a helicopter as part of a goodwill gesture aimed at winning over support from the local population. The balls showed the flags of several nations, including the Saudi standard. A few dozen people protested Friday near the provincial capital, also called Khost, saying it was insulting for texts from the Koran to be put on the ground and kicked. The resentment simmered on Friday. 'It's an insult to our religion,' said one man, named only Palawan, who was one of the protestors. 'They insult our religion and call it a gift,' another man, Gilani Sanizai, said. The coalition regretted causing any unhappiness, said a spokeswoman, Captain Vanessa Bowman. The distribution of the toys was part of a 'hearts and minds' campaign, she said."

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Death Kitty

First... have a little fun. Play Statetris.

MapMSG.com - Statetri

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Impeachment #1.

I wish more people would call it what it really is... LYING. Abu Gonzo's pants were literally smoldering yesterday.

The Raw Story | Documents contradict Attorney General's sworn testimony

The "Gang of Eight," prominent congressional leaders of both parties, were briefed about the President's terrorist surveillance program immediately before its intended expiration date, documents reveal.

The documents directly contradict the sworn testimony of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, heightening the questions of his credibility and fueling concern of perjury charges.

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How's that 'abstinence only' education workin' for ya, Texas?

Trying to stop teenagers from having sex is like trying to stop a dog from eating cat shit.

Texas leads U.S. in teen birth rate:

"HOUSTON --Texas had the nation's highest birth rate among teenagers ages 15 to 19 in 2004, according to a newly released study of children's health. The Kids Count study, which is updated annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, said the Texas rate of 63 births per 1,000 teens remained the same from 2003 to 2004."

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As a single, hetero lad the subject of love is one I ponder often. (That last sentence was a muted cry for help, so all you cute/hot single sassy smart ladies out there who dig good music, are politically aware with a twisted sense of humor..... call me... I have references).

How To Get Your Love On / What, you think you know? Think you have some tiny idea of how love works? Are you high?:

"Here is the big lesson, the thing that keeps coming at me, again and again and again: No one has the slightest clue how to make love work.

I know. Shocking. But truly, it's weirder that you might think."

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"Its like rain on your wedding day...."

How in the world do 'faith based' folks make this jive.

Popular San Antonio Pastor Dies from Lightning Strike During Hike:

"A 50-year-old pastor from a church here in San Antonio was killed Tuesday afternoon after he was hit by a bolt of lightning while hiking with his two teenage sons, authorities told News 4 WOAI."

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Death Kitty... There's got to be a band by that name.

Still, this is pretty cool.... or pretty creepy.

Oscar the cat Predicts Patients Death:

"PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live."

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One step closer to real cyber sex....

Japanese firm develops glove that 'feels' 3D images:

"Ever dreamed of being drawn close to a smiling Marilyn Monroe or feeling the muscles of fitness guru Billy Blanks? A Japanese firm on Wednesday unveiled a system that enables you to feel 'the shape and softness' of three-dimensional images using a sensor-loaded glove.

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Bullet Headache

Following up on yesterday's post re: the modern day Alabama lynching:

Looks like sweet home Alabama was a real world evil laboratory for Rove. He tested of few of his nastier tricks in Alabama, pre-W's reign of terror on the entire country.

Most specifically, it looks as though he worked on perverting an already shaky legal system in the state.

TPMmuckraker:

"Ex-Gov. Don Siegelman (D-AL) is again questioning the motives and impartiality of the prosecutors who want to put him away for 30 years. And the prosecutors keep giving him good reason to."

A newbieish Alabama blogger, Legal Schnauzer seems to be all over this story:

Legal Schnauzer:

"Reporters are focusing on the case because it is the latest example of corruption in the U.S. Justice Department, a scandal that began with the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys earlier this year. A growing body of evidence suggests that the Siegelman/Scrushy prosecution was politically motivated and driven by Alabama Republican operative Bill Canary, with assistance from White House political strategist Karl Rove. The Alabama case presents the strongest evidence to date that the politicization of the U.S. Justice Department has direct links to the White House.

The Los Angeles Times reports that even prominent Republicans, such as former Arizona attorney general Grant Woods, smell something fishy going on in Alabama."

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Again, if you vote for people who don't believe in government and want to shrink it to an appropriate bathtub drownable size, then this is what you get.

They feel no shame, no obligation to their fellow men and women, no sense of honor, no sense of honesty.

Fuckers.

Think Progress - New Post-Katrina Investigations Reveal More Federal Waste And Incompetence

EPA allowed toxic chemicals to harm poor Katrina victims:

FEMA guaranteed billions in profits for big companies:

FEMA guaranteed billions in profits for big companies:

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Another follow up on yesterday's post re: obstructionist Republicans.

Why the fuck aren't the Democrats screaming bloody 'up or down vote' just like the Republicans did? Why aren't we threatening the nuclear option.

Democrats, quit playing a game that your opponents aren't playing. They've defined the game over the past six years. You can't just ignore it. You have to play their game and whip their ass at it THEN you can change the rules to your game.

Take off the fucking gloves.

Think Progress - Senate Conservatives Aggressively Obstructing Critical Legislation:

"Senate conservatives in the 110th Congress are obstructing and blocking legislation at a rate more than double that of the past two Congresses combined.
.....

The legislation being blocked by right-wing senators has broad public support:

– Conservatives blocked debate on raising the minimum wage (54-43, Roll Call Vote #23)
– Conservatives blocked debate ethics reforms (Rejected 51-46, Roll Call Vote #16)
– Conservatives blocked debate on funding for renewable energy (Rejected 57-36, Roll Call Vote #223)
– Conservatives blocked a vote on funding for the intelligence community (Rejected 41-40, Roll Call Vote #130)
– Conservatives delayed legislation fulfilling the 9/11 Commission recommendations (Passed 97-0, Roll Call Vote #53)

Believe your eyes, then....

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A ray of hope... though it don't mean shit until it translates into votes.... I take that back, it does mean shit b/c these young'uns are attaching themselves to liberal/progressive ideas which are the best ideas at fostering a peaceful, responsible, educated, loving, lucrative future for this dirt ball we're stuck to.

MyDD :: Direct Democracy for People-Powered Politics:

I've been trying to track the transformational potential of the Bush presidency -- how the tenure of George W. Bush could change the electorate for decades to come to become significantly more Democratic -- for some time. Back before the election, for instance, I pointed to the argument that once political and partisan leanings are enshrined in young voters, as they appeared to be doing last fall, they tend stay with that cohort for as long as that cohort stays in the electorate.

Exit polling from last November's elections indicated that younger voters -- those age 18 to 29 -- were more likely than any other age group to vote for Democrats, backing Democratic House candidates over GOP candidates by a whopping 60 percent to 38 percent margin (up from 55 percent to 44 percent in the 2004 House elections). Subsequent polling undertaken by Pew back in January also indicated a decidedly Democratic and progressive lean to the group they labeled as 'generation next.' And now a new survey (.pdf) commissioned by The New York Times, CBS News and MTV finds that younger voters look a lot more Democratic and progressive than the electorate as a whole."

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god, I hate those liberal Hollywood jerks, using their time and money to prevent genocide. I mean, what kind of jackasses are these people?

Clooney's dreamy. I mean, he's no Fred Thompson with the smell and all, but....

Clooney: Cast raises millions for Darfur:

"UNITED NATIONS - 'Ocean's Thirteen' stars have donated $5.5 million to humanitarian efforts in Sudan's Darfur region, according to actor George Clooney.

Clooney told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Rome that he was joined by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and producer Jerry Weintraub in raising $9.3 million for Darfur, most of which was contributed at a dinner during the film's premiere last month at the Cannes Film Festival.

Clooney said more than half the money has already been donated to various charities dealing with Darfur. He said his group wants to keep emptying and replenishing the coffers of the humanitarian organization they co-founded, called Not On Our Watch, to focus global attention on the plight of the 2.5 million civilians in Darfur who have fled their homes."

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Oh, what a true champ Kobayashi is turning out to be. He's going to play through the pain, maybe.

Hot-Dog Champ Is Coming to Brooklyn, Manager Insists:

"Takeru Kobayashi’s debilitating jaw pain has generated widespread speculation in the world of competitive eating that he might not be able to take part in the Nathan’s Famous July 4 International Hot-Dog Eating Contest next week — a competition he has won every year since 2001.

But The Times’s Tokyo bureau, which interviewed Mr. Kobayashi’s manager today, tells City Room that Mr. Kobayashi got treatment for his jaw problems today and intends to catch a flight to the United States on Thursday. The manager said that Mr. Kobayashi intends to take part in the Nathan’s contest on July 4 and in a Pizza Hut “Dare You to Still be Hungry” eating contest on July 10."

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Man, how drunk do you have to be to not know you've been shot in the head until the next morning.

It's great.... she took him to the hospital and only ran after then found the bullet. Did she think they wouldn't find it?

Florida man's headache mystery solved by a bullet:

"MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man awoke with a severe headache and asked his wife to drive him to a hospital, where doctors found a bullet lodged behind his right ear, sheriff's deputies said.

'The nurse looked at him and said, 'It appears that you've been shot,'' the Fort Pierce Tribune quoted St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara as saying. 'And he said, 'No way.''

The wife, April Moylan, fled the emergency room when the bullet was discovered but later told deputies she had accidentally shot her husband as he slept early on Tuesday. She was jailed on a weapons violation charge while deputies pursued additional charges"

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The Angry Yoga

Here's an update on the Genarlow Wilson case I blogged about yesterday:

Judge: No 10-year sentence for teen sex :

"ATLANTA - A Georgia judge ordered the release Monday of a man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

I can't help but to think that, in this fucked-up universe we live in, Paris Hilton somehow helped Genarlow. Her early released certainly generated national attention to Genarlow's plight.

Maybe some serious class injustice is occasionally needed to point out where the real fuck-ups are.

The judge did make a fair observation in his ruling. Good on him.

'If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish ... justice being served in a fair and equal manner,' the judge wrote."

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Speaking of 'justice'....

Shrub has been packing the Justice Department with two bit lawyers from Pat Robertson's Regent "University". This is a 4th tier law school. These ' christian lawyers' are the very definition of hacks. These are the people entrusted with protecting the constitution; yours and my rights defined under that constitution.

So one would figure that if Shrub has so much confidence in these 4th tier, hardly-a-real-law-school graduates, hacktacular JD's, that he would employ them for his own legal defense, right? Put your money where your mouth is, right? Good for the goose, good for the gander, right?

Wrong.

The American Prospect:

SO HELP ME IVY. The Post reports that President Bush is beefing up his besieged White House legal team with some crack lawyers to defend the administration against a variety of congressional inquiries. As the Post's Peter Baker notes, all eight [of the newly-hired attorneys] received degrees from Ivy League schools or from West Point.

So, when it comes to policy-making over at the so-called Justice Department, a Regent University law degree, like the one held by Monica 'I may have crossed the line' Goodling and a battalion of other fundies, suffices. But when it comes to protecting the president's backside, apparently a divine legal degree is no substitute for an East Coast elite Ivy School pedigree."

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Stupid is as stupid does.

Gallup: Majority of Republicans doubt evolution

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I've practiced yoga and I agree with this pronouncement:

Yoga May Help Treat Depression, Anxiety Disorders:

"THURSDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Yoga's postures, controlled breathing and meditation may work together to help ease brains plagued by anxiety or depression, a new study shows.

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I practice anger and I agree with this pronouncement:

Anger Fuels Better Decisions:

"The next time you are plagued with indecision and need a clear way out, it might help to get angry, according to a surprising new study.

Despite its reputation as an impetus to rash behavior, anger actually seems to help people make better choices—even aiding those who are usually very poor at thinking rationally. This could be because angry people base their decisions on the cues that 'really matter' rather than things that can be called irrelevant or a distraction."

If I ever open a bar I'll call it The Angry Yoga... or maybe The Angry Stretch.

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Cheetah Whores

One of my favorite blogs and one of the best writers on Alabama and National politics is shuttering his joint due to a move to another state:

Programming Note - The Alablawg:

"Moving to S’port means the end of the Alablawg, too. I hate it, I really do."

You will be sorely missed, Wheeler.

Go check out some of his final posts. As usual they are really good.

The Alablawg no more. I've got to give that a big 'Booooooo'!

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Fucking christ. If I hadn't just lived through the past 6+ years I would think this to be unimaginable.

Alas,

U.S. government fights to keep meatpackers from testing all slaughtered cattle for mad cow:

"WASHINGTON: The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease.

The Agriculture Department tests fewer than 1 percent of slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted beef. A beef producer in the western state of Kansas, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, wants to test all of its cows.

Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone should test its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive tests on their larger herds as well.

This next line of the article kills me, though. This is the same tripe my 'medical coverage' gave me when I went for a yearly check-up. I asked them to run every test they got (hey, might as well... I'm there... and I'm a paranoid fuck). I got the same bullshit answer.

False positive my ass.

Preventative healthcare means insurance will prevent you from getting healthcare.

The Agriculture Department regulates the test and argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry."

Oh, and... uh-huh-huh, uh huh-huh... they said 'meatpackers'.

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Really? Ya think?!

House GOP fear fallout from ethics cases:

"WASHINGTON - A half dozen federal investigations into the activities of Republican lawmakers are raising new worries for GOP leaders who hope to regain the House majority they lost last fall.

In recent weeks, two veteran Republicans surrendered prominent committee seats after
FBI agents raided the offices of family businesses. Others have long-running investigations hanging over them. Some conservative activists are criticizing the party's handling of the matters."

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Impeach this baffon. Sign the petition if you haven't already. Remember, it's an easy way to participate in your democracy.

Impeach Gonzales!

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Whores.

I wouldn't say it to their faces, but all the same..... Whores. Or would they be sluts?

Female cheetahs sleep around:

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- For female cheetahs in the Serengeti, the call of the wild is just too hard to resist as new research shows nearly half of their litters are made up of cubs with different fathers."

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Kick That Monster's Ass!

Ouch. The robots are developing their own analytical skills. Watch out, Republicans.

I got a feeling there is gonna be much more just like this....

GOP insider: Bush is 'Dan Quayle in cowboy boots':

Victor Gold, a friend of George H.W. Bush and the Cheney family, will release a book slamming the Bush administration entitled, 'Invasion of the Party Snatchers: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP.'

'For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times,' Gold writes. 'Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots.'"

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BREAKING:

Daily Kos: Matt Drudge caught with child pornography:

"Officials say that internet gossip site owner Matt Drudge has been caught with a huge collection of child pornography. Sources say called Drudge's collection 'gigantic' and full of 'revolting, absolutely illegal porn' involving minors. 'I can't believe the foul stuff this man had stashed in a locked room in his basement,' said one official."

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See how safe Baghdad is now.

McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships

Da-da du dum da-dum.... SURGE!!!!

"Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq.

NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s one-hour guided tour. He was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” Still photographs provided by the military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit. Watch it:"

Oh, we're getting the entire picture, McCain. Seems like you're not, though.

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Let's take a look at the goings on in the Attorneygate scandal. And it is a scandal.

Let's deconstruct one of the Conservative double-speaks.

Conservatives say 'voter fraud'. Conservatives mean 'we want to supress poor and minority voters who traditionally vote Democratic'.

The Myth Of Voter Fraud:

"But the notion of widespread voter fraud, as these prosecutors found out, is itself a fraud. Firing a prosecutor for failing to find wide voter fraud is like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch. Where fraud exists, of course, it should be prosecuted and punished. (And politicians have been stuffing ballot boxes and buying votes since senators wore togas; Lyndon Johnson won a 1948 Senate race after his partisans famously 'found' a box of votes well after the election.) Yet evidence of actual fraud by individual voters is painfully skimpy."

Why were these 8 USAs fired? Why did they all come from important swing states?

Justice firings are keyed to '08 vote:

"WASHINGTON -- Senator Edward M. Kennedy yesterday accused President Bush of using the Department of Justice to further his administration's 'right-wing ideology,' saying that veteran prosecutors were replaced by political operatives in key states to ensure that 'reliable partisans' are in place in time for the 2008 presidential election.
Article Tools

Kennedy noted that the recent rash of firings among US attorneys put new top prosecutors in place in several presidential swing states, including Florida, Iowa, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Arkansas."

And who, praytell, where the attorneys replaced with?

Prosecutor Posts Go To Bush Insiders:

"About one-third of the nearly four dozen U.S. attorney's jobs that have changed hands since President Bush began his second term have been filled by the White House and the Justice Department with trusted administration insiders.

The people chosen as chief federal prosecutors on a temporary or permanent basis since early 2005 include 10 senior aides to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, according to an analysis of government records. Several came from the White House or other government agencies. Some lacked experience as prosecutors or had no connection to the districts in which they were sent to work, the records and biographical information show."
......

No other administration in contemporary times has had such a clear pattern of filling chief prosecutors' jobs with its own staff members, said experts on U.S. attorney's offices. Those experts said the emphasis in appointments traditionally has been on local roots and deference to home-state senators, whose support has been crucial to win confirmation of the nominees.

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Monsters

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MC Motherfucker Who Should be in Prison

This boils my fucking blood. So mad I could spit.

How many troops have been killed this month?

How many lives destroyed because of this son-of-a-bitch.

How many citizens of this country so terribly misinformed by a media that worries more about being buddies with the bastards in charge than providing critical oversight that is a necessary function of the 4th motherfucking estate.

That David Gregory, who on occassions looked like he might resemble a newsman of the past, would so whore out his career in this fashion.

That this piece of shit Rove can find the time to laugh and joke and 'rap'.

If there is any justice in the world this motherfucker will have the mother of all strokes and have to be spoon feed the rest of his life while he stews in his own shitty diaper.



A-hahahahahahahahaha!!!! Weeeeeee!!!! Isn't it all fun, destroying the fucking world! Woo-hoo!

Here's a fucking rap for you "Fuck you, KKKarl Rove". Yeah, that's defnitely got a beat that I can dance to.

That about ruined my day. I take solace in the fact that the sold-out MSM is loosing its war with the blogosphere. The 4th estate is being moved, thank jeebus, off of your televisions and radio and onto the internet.

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Meanwhile, in AttorneyGate happenings:

The Nazi bastard's view of the Justice Department:

Aide: Prosecutors fired over priorities:

"WASHINGTON - Eight federal prosecutors were fired last year because they did not sufficiently support President Bush's priorities, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former chief of staff said Thursday, a standard that Democrats called 'highly improper.'"

Now the view of a true American who respects the Constitution:

Leahy: Justice does not serve at the pleasure of the President:

"'United States Attorneys may serve at the pleasure of the president, but justice does not serve at the pleasure of the president, or any president,' he said."

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I need something to smooth me out. To much rage for a Thursday morning. What would do it, hmmmm, what would do it....

Carmen Electra harbours a lesbian crush on Joan Jett!: "

Washington, Mar.28(ANI): Former Baywatch babe Carmen Electra has grown up nourishing a secret lesbian crush on rocker Joan Jett.

The actress turned model revealed that she has been lusting after the I Love Rock 'n' Roll singer from the age of eight after catching a glimpse of the sexy songstress in a bikini in one of her a rock videos."

Please, oh, please, oh, please, oh, please let there be a leaked celebrity sex tape of this coupling. Mother Earth, you owes us this after the bastard 'MC' debacle above.

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What? Yeah!

Lil' Jon Scores Jewelry Record:

"Rapper Lil' Jon has been added to the Guinness Book of World Records as the owner of the largest diamond pendant ever.

The hip-hop star's 'Crunk Aint Dead' pendant has weighed in as the globe's biggest -- it's 7.5 inches tall, 6 inches wide and 1 inch thick.

The impressive diamond accessory, valued at $500,000, weighs almost 12 pounds and features 73 carats of diamonds -- 3,756 genuine round-cut white diamonds set in 18-karat yellow and white gold."

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So Wrong.... About Everything

It is not surprising that the similarities to Watergate are being discussed. Shit, half of Bush's staff were involved in Watergate. The other half were involved in Iran-Contra.

We've got some quality criminals in the White House. The best of the best.

Missing eighteen-day stretch in Justice emails recalls infamous Watergate tape gap:

"First spotted by a commenter on the blog Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall reports there is an 18-day gap in the over 3,000 emails released by the Department of Justice pertaining to the attorney firing scandal.

The gap covers the days between November 15 and December 4, 2006. So far, only one email has been found dated within the 18 days among those released in Monday night's document dump. The lone email, from November 29, 2006, was one forwarded by Justice official Michael Elston to a fellow staffer asking for an attached review document to be printed.

'The firing calls went out on December 7th. But the original plan was to start placing the calls on November 15th,' notes Marshall. 'So those eighteen days are pretty key ones.'"

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Elections have consequences.... thank jeebus they do. Maybe, maybe we can turn Bush's Titantic around before it's too late:

Who's watching the president?:

Hurricane Katrina, the chaotic occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, the breakdown at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the FBI's abuse of Patriot Act powers, the troubling dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys — everywhere, the administration has been plagued by an epidemic of incompetence."
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The answer begins with Bush's management style. He combines a distaste for details with a tendency to prize loyalty over performance.

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Conservatives portray themselves as the serious-minded adults who are responsible.

Ummmm, not so much:

Conservatives Cost a Lot of Money:

"The real attention-getter about conservatives is that they are so damned expensive."

What costs more--a vast middle class who can support themselves and their towns and cities and schools and children and elderly relatives, or a vast class of working poor who can barely support themselves and certainly cannot take care of failing schools, deteriorating housing stock, surging crime, and chaos proliferating all around them? Just because the conservatives don't want to pay for something doesn't mean costs are not incurred; they are simply put off for another day, when they will be geometrically higher.

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They simply aren't right about anything. I mean anything. Not even historically. You can't find one instance where these guys have been right. They ooze wrongness.

Economist's View: Paul Krugman: Don’t Cry for Reagan:

"As the Bush administration sinks deeper into its multiple quagmires, the personality cult the G.O.P. once built around President Bush has given way to nostalgia for the good old days. The current cover of Time magazine shows a weeping Ronald Reagan, and declares that Republicans “need to reclaim the Reagan legacy.”

But Republicans shouldn’t cry for Ronald Reagan; the truth is, he never left them. There’s no need to reclaim the Reagan legacy: Mr. Bush is what Mr. Reagan would have been given the opportunity."

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And they don't give one wit about the Constitution. That's the scariest part. This is just chilling... or it should be fucking eye-opening.

If the Republican expressed how they truly felt about matters then they would never, ever win another election in the U.S.

Sometimes it slips out:

'Free speech is subject to policy':

Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) issued a startling rebuke to the NASA official, disputing his assertion that taxpayer-funded scientists are entitled to speak freely.

'Free speech is not a simple thing and is subject to and directed by policy,' Cannon said, according to the Times."

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The U.S. pays a dear price for having these fools in power. It took them 6 years to wreak so much havoc.

These people are criminal dangerous:

The Price of White House Ineptitude:

"The White House that was once seen as muscular-even invincible-is being tagged as something else: incompetent. How else to explain the ham-handed Justice Department management of the dismissal of U.S. attorneys? Or the lack of oversight of conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center? Or an FBI that abused intelligence-gathering powers provided for in the Patriot Act? 'The whole thing just isn't competent,' a Republican senator close to the White House tells me. 'It looks like the wheels are coming off.'"

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