Creaking Tatters

Wonder if he watched it on CNN

A lot happening today, voting in Iraq and another shootout here in Kuwait. For the vote in Iraq, it'll probably be a few days before we know how it went. I just hope that someone turned on the TV for Saddam today and let him watch the Iraqi people voting.

Voting quick, pharmacy slow

Just got an email from my Mom and that was the subject line. They voted in NY this morning. If the voting was slow and the pharmacy quick, I think my parent's wouldn't have known what to do.

From my Mom's email:

"When I asked the ladies at the desk at the poling place how long they were there, they had been there since about 5:45 (poles open here at 6:00 a.m. and close at 9:00, so as I say they also said they have to stay til about 10 to tally, whatever that involves! Long day!

So now here's hoping maybe, just maybe, the person gets in who will both allow the stem cell research which eventually will cure Alzheimer's and other diseases and also will hopefully get decent wages for those HHAs and other healthcare workers so they can have a living wage!

It's a beautiful day, weatherwise, though it may shower much later, but since it's so beautiful, I sure hope everyone will turn out and vote! When I left the polling place, I was almost in tears, just thrilled with the privilege of voting, in light of the fact that there are so many non-citizens here (including our renters) and that 9/11 didn't take away this right, which hopefully now we'll never take for granted!"

Last minute media buy

And in a last minute U.S. Presidential Election media buy, Osama bin Laden has managed to get free air time on all the U.S. networks. He endorsed himself.

Latest Zogby Poll

The latest Zogpy political poll has some interesting findings:

“Voters with active passports prefer Kerry 58% to 35%, while those without a passport are for Bush 48% to 39%."

"The two candidates are in a dead heat among self-identified members of the investor class – Kerry 45% to Bush’s 44%."

“Big city voters favor Kerry 58% to 36%."

Now, I'm a big-city voter, and I've got a passport, and I've got my little Roth IRA, so I suppose I'm part of the investor class too. Who should I vote for?

It is interesting though, that fairly wide gap among voters with passports. What about voters with two passports?

Jib Jab

With the Democratic Convention in full swing and a long summer and fall of politics ahead of us, it's nice to see a little humor in the process:

Jib Jab
(You'll definitely want to have Flash installed and the sound on for this.)

24 inch pythons

Props to Erica, for posting this link on her blog. What do Hulk Hogan, He-Man, Mr. T, and R2D2 have in common? They're out to stop George W. Bush and the evil Voltron. Don't ask, just check it out.

Bonzo Goes to Heaven

So Ronald Reagan passed away this weekend. Alzheimer's is a horrible disease, and after suffering from it for ten years, I hope that President Reagan is at peace today.

I'm going to leave it up to the pundits and politicians to fight over Reagan's legacy. I'll try to go over to the Capital for the funeral procession this week if there's time, but we're leaving for Kuwait in a week.

I would say though that, in all the remembrances and tributes that will inevitably be produced over the next few weeks, it's important not to glorify Reagan's legacy to the point where we gloss over some of the problems that were not addressed during his Presidency. To that end, I provide below the lyrics from the Ramones song, Bonzo Goes to Bitburg. This song was written by The Ramones to address Reagan's 1985 visit to the Bitburg Military Cemetery in Germany, a cemetery which contained the graves of Nazi SS soldiers. A better historical explanation can be found here, and the lyrics to the song are below.

BONZO GOES TO BITBURG by The Ramones

You've got to pick up the pieces C'mon, sort your trash
You better pull yourself back together Maybe you've got too much cash
Better call, call the law When you gonna turn yourself in? Yeah
You're a politician Don't become one of Hitler's children

Bonzo goes to bitburg then goes out for a cup of tea
As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
Drank in all the bars in town for an extended foreign policy
Pick up the pieces

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

Shouldn't wish you happiness, wish her the very best
Fifty thousand dollar dress, Shaking hands with your highness
See through you like cellophane, You watch the world complain,
But you do it anyway Who am I, am I to say

Bonzo goes to bitburg then goes out for a cup of tea
As I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered me
Drank in all the bars in town for an extended foreign policy
Pick up the pieces

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

If there's one thing that makes me sick
It's when someone tries to hide behind politics
I wish that time could go by fast
Somehow they manage to make it last

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

My brain is hanging upside down I need something to slow me down

Right Wing Eye

A delightful little parody:

Right Wing Eye

Political Webwork

Whatever your politics, it's always fun to see some innovative use of the web and new media to tell a story. Here's a good example about what went down in Florida in 2000.

Miserable Failure

It's amazing what you can do with technology. Go to Google. Type in "miserable failure", then click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Now how did they do that?

Something interesting

To read at some point:

http://66.34.243.131/iran/html/article942.html

If a woman were President...

I wonder if a woman President would have a picture of herself surrounded by women signing a bill that only affects the health of men. Now that would be funny. In this case, it's not really funny at all.
President Bush Signs Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

Bringing back the draft?

Looks like the Dept. of Defense is making preparations to re-constitute the Draft Boards, in the first public call to do so since the draft was abolished in 1973. Definitely not something the President could politically push for while still up for re-election, but if Iraq drags on (and don't forget Syria, Iran, etc.) and Bush is re-elected, could we see the draft re-instituted?

(Update 11/12/03 - Looks like the DoD got so much unwanted press from that Draft Board announcement that they removed that page. But I wasn't making it up. You can read more about it here, here, or here.)

Who wants to party?

NY, that's who. 1010Wins provides the best graphical representation of the defeat of Mayor Bloomberg's effort to get rid of party primaries and elections in New York City.

The 1010Wins story is here, Daily News coverage here.

Who's seen my Mojo?

Seems that Rumsfeld is unclear as to the whereabouts of Saddam, Osama, or his Mojo.

The right to vote?

This is the most important article you can possibly read right now:

"A Quiet Revolution is Taking Place in US Politics. By the Time It's Over, the Integrity of Elections Will be in the Unchallenged, Unscrutinized Control of a Few Large - and Pro-Republican - Corporations. Andrew Gumbel wonders if democracy in America can survive"

Read the full article here.

Roverer

In case you were wondering who this new California governor is, you should read this article.

Fly Fly, Fly away...

My oh my. An interesting story is finally seeing the light of day:

"Top White House officials personally approved the evacuation of dozens of influential Saudis, including relatives of Osama bin Laden, from the United States in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when most flights were still grounded, a former White House adviser said today." NY Times, 9/3/03

And if you subscribe to Salon, they have an interesting write-up on this as well:

"Americans who want to understand an important aspect of what has gone wrong with the Bush "war on terrorism" must read Craig Unger's stunning investigative story in the October issue of Vanity Fair. He provides a definitive account of how members of the bin Laden family and relatives of the House of Saud were spirited out of the country on private aircraft during the days following the Sept. 11 attacks -- when almost all aviation was prohibited."

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

Just watched the first debate among the Democratic Presidential candidates.

The Good = There are seven candidates that I would gladly vote for and are highly qualified to lead this country.

The Bad = See above. How do we choose, and how do we rally around one candidate?

The Ugly = Joe Leiberman

But I raise my glass to all of the candidates that took part tonight, here's to all of you.

Johnny be good

From CNN:

"Hollywood star Johnny Depp said on Wednesday the United States was a stupid, aggressive puppy and he would not live there until the political climate changed."

"Depp slammed George W. Bush's administration for its criticism of French opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

"I was ecstatic they re-named 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries'. Grown men and women in positions of power in the U.S. government showing themselves as idiots," he told Stern."

____________

Not only am I going to go see Pirates of Carribean and his other new movie coming out, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but I'm going to go to back and watch all the old episodes of 21 Jump Street.

Am I in Jakarta?

If I wanted to live in a place where the economy was so bad that we had to be reprimanded by the IMF, I'd move to Indonesia.

From Forbes:

"While Democrats and Republicans traded charges over the deficit in predictable ways (Democrats calling President George Bush's policies irresponsible; Republicans saying it's all quite manageable), more unusual is the IMF sticking its nose in. The international bank is set to reproach the U.S. for being too optimistic in its assumptions on government spending and revenue, and lacking a coherent budget plan, according to Reuters. The IMF draft report also says that the U.S. lacks "a medium-term concept to consolidate budgets and reform the social insurance system."

http://www.forbes.com/2003/08/27/cx_da_0827topnews.html

The Willing Conscript.

Today's website: Military Families Speak Out

Today's song:

The Willing Conscript

Oh Sergeant I'm a draftee and I've just arrived in camp.
I've come to wear the uniform and join the martial tramp.
And I want to do my duty, but one thing I do implore
You must give me lessons, sergeant, for I've never killed before.

To do my job obediently is my only desire.
To learn my weapon thoroughly and how to aim and fire.
To learn to kill the enemy and then to slaughter more,
I'll need instruction, sergeant, for I've never killed before.

Now there are several lessons that I haven't mastered yet.
I haven't got the hang of how to use the bayonet.
If he doesn't die at once am I to stick him with it more?
Oh, I hope you will be patient, for I've never killed before.

Oh, there are rumors in the camp about our enemy.
They say that when you see him he looks just like you and me.
But you deny it, Sergeant, and you are a man of war,
So you must give me lessons, for I've never killed before.

The hand grenade is something that I just don't understand.
You've got to throw it quickly or you're apt to lose your hand.
Does it blow a man to pieces with it's wicked, muffled roar?
Oh, I've got so much to learn because I've never killed before.

Oh, I want to thank you, Sergeant, for the help you've been to me.
For you've taught me how to slaughter and to hate the enemy.
And I know that I'll be ready when they march me off to war,
And I know that it won't matter that I've never killed before.
And I know that it won't matter that I've never killed before.

Words and Music by Tom Paxton

No comment.

"The majority of American voters would not like to see President Bush re-elected to another term according to a poll by Newsweek magazine.

The survey released Saturday showed that 49 percent of registered voters would not back the president for a second term if the vote were held now. Forty-four percent would support Mr. Bush's re-election."

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=AA40140D-FF3F-4B8D-AEB579CA3DBB57E7

Real Action Heroes

An editorial calling for action figures for the "real heroes", in response to the Bush doll pictured below

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/14/Opinion/Honor_the_real_action.shtml

Fair and Balanced

"And by the way, a few months ago, I trademarked the word 'funny.' So when Fox calls me 'unfunny,' they're violating my trademark. I am seriously considering a countersuit," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/08/12/media.fox.reut/index.html

No comment

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Your Flag Decal

Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
© John Prine (http://www.jpshrine.org/lyrics/songs/jpflagdecal.html)

While digesting Reader's Digest
In the back of a dirty book store,
A plastic flag, with gum on the back,
Fell out on the floor.
Well, I picked it up and I ran outside
Slapped it on my window shield,
And if I could see old Betsy Ross
I'd tell her how good I feel.

Chorus:
But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.

Well, I went to the bank this morning
And the cashier he said to me,
"If you join the Christmas club
We'll give you ten of them flags for free."
Well, I didn't mess around a bit
I took him up on what he said.
And I stuck them stickers all over my car
And one on my wife's forehead.

Repeat Chorus:

Well, I got my window shield so filled
With flags I couldn't see.
So, I ran the car upside a curb
And right into a tree.
By the time they got a doctor down
I was already dead.
And I'll never understand why the man
Standing in the Pearly Gates said...

"But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
We're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more."

Halliburton.

Looks like the Iraq War hasn't just helped the Iraqi people:

"Working in Iraq has helped turn around Halliburton's financial performance, its second-quarter results showed. The company made a profit of $26 million, in contrast to a loss of $498 million in the period a year earlier. The company stated that 9 percent, or $324 million, of its second-quarter revenue of $3.6 billion came from its work in Iraq."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nyt/20030808/ts_nyt/rivalssayhalliburtondominatesiraqoilwork

Watcha' Talkin' Bout Davis?

Now it's a horse race folks. Damn, I wish I lived in California, so I could vote for Gary Coleman:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/06/candidate.coleman/index.html

Also see:
http://www.garycolemanhasaposse.com/home.html

Disguises...

CentCom has just released altered pictures of Saddam Hussein, showing possible disguises he might be using: