The Moustache Has It!

I can't believe I agree with Friedman about politics, but it's true

We can’t afford to keep being this stupid! We have got to get our groove back. We need a president who will unite us around a common purpose, not a common enemy. Al Qaeda is about 9/11. We are about 9/12, we are about the Fourth of July — which is why I hope that anyone who runs on the 9/11 platform gets trounced.

Man, I Hate To Agree With Peggy Noonan...

But in this instance, I have to wholeheartedly agree with her thesis. It's rather pitiful that she feels the need to school her conservative colleagues in the basic civil liberties upon which our nation was built.

In 1960 the premier of the Soviet Union came and spoke in the United States. Nikita Khrushchev was our sworn enemy, and a vulgarian--sweaty faced, ill educated, dressed in a suit just off the racks from the Gulag Kresge's. I was a child, but I remember the impression he made. He took off his shoe and banged it, literally, on the soft beige wood of a desk at the U.N., as he fulminated. His nation had nuclear weapons. They were aimed at us.

The new Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, was there too. He was young and bearded and dressed in camouflage; he too, soon, would have missiles pointed at us. He not only went to the U.N. and spoke to the world, he refused to stay at the Waldorf and sweetly chose instead a hotel in Harlem to show his solidarity with America's oppressed. The Americans there seemed to get the joke, and welcomed him with laughter. They knew he was playing them. But then they'd been played before.

Khrushchev's trip and Castro's were all about propaganda, all about sticking it to Uncle Sam. And here's what happened: Nothing. Their presence hurt our country exactly zero percent. In fact it raised us high, reminding the world we are the confident nation that lets its foes speak uncensored. As an adult nation would.

Professor Noonan to Republicans: "Go back and repeat 8^th grade Civics."

What's Opera, Doc?

I found this on YouTube and I had to preserve it here. This was a part of my favorite recital ever! I was all the Warner Brothers (and some _whisper Disney) cartoons that featured classical music.

It was da bomb!

There's An Elephant in the Men's Room

Sometimes I Am Ashamed To Be American

And they're proud of this behavior.

Sickening.

No End In Sight

This is absolutely devastating. I knew that the aftermath of the invasion had been botched, but I really didn't think that literally 5 men would undercut the military, the CIA, the State Dept, everything else in the government to create this disaster.

I can't wait until I can see this film.

Filibust This!

The GOP is disgusting in it's slavering obstructionism.

Bet your glad you didn't go nuclear back during the Gang of Fourteen time?

Universal Womenhood

It's amazing how the archetype for feminine beauty has remained static over the centuries. There is very little variation in proportion, just hair and eye color.

It's also interesting that I see this the morning after I saw Jennifer Valenti (who blogs at Feministing) on The Colbert Report. She was witty, poised, and kept Stephen Colbert on his toes, which is not easy. Brava!

Boston Legal At It It's Best

Priceless Words To Describe "Conservatives"

Poster sglover on Balloon Juice says it all:

It continues to astonish me that right-wingers (not true “conservatives” in any meaningful sense) want me to believe on the one hand that government isn’t capable of running a school system or regulating commerce, yet perfectly competent to perform massive social engineering projects in profoundly alien culture half a world away. Less befuddled minds would notice the contradiction, and maybe do some necessary soul-searching. .....

It just doesn't get any better....

Webb For President

Watching Sen Jim Webb on Meet the Press after the election, I wanted to see this.

Which makes this interchange even sweeter

Sen. Webb: And this is a question that can be answered either very briefly or through written testimony, but my question is: Is it the position of this administration that it possesses the authority to take unilateral action against Iran in the absence of a direct threat without congressional approval?

Secy. Rice: Senator, I'm really loathe to get into questions of the president's authorities without a rather more clear understanding of what we are actually talking about. So let me answer you, in fact, in writing. I think that would be the best thing to do.

Sen. Webb: I would appreciate that.

(rubs hands together)I can't wait!

Keith Ellison Is Amazing!

This man has shown so much class and dignity in the face of the shrieking harpies of the right-wing nutjobosphere, I can't think of anything more he could do to make me respect him more.

Well, he did just that.

About a month ago, he contacted the Library of Congress's rare books and special collections division about using Thomas Jefferson's personal copy of an English translation of the Qu'ran, published in London in 1764, a later printing of the original 1734 run.

Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the library, will hand carry the two volume set over for the ceremonial swearing-in for the new Congressman from Minnesota, then return it to the collection after the ceremony.

Invoking one of the founding father's of this country's tolerance and curiosity for diversity in religion is pure genius.

Wow.

3000

U.S. deaths in Iraq confirmed by the DoD: 2989.

Reported U.S. deaths in Iraq pending DoD confirmation: 11.

Total U.S. deaths in Iraq: 3000.

"...when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma..."--

President George W. Bush

Well, here what 3000 commas look like you sick motherfucker:

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Oh, don't forget those fortunate enough to survive their injuries. Non-mortal casualties in Iraq: 46,880.

Happy New Year.

This Just Gets Worse and Worse

I was thinking that Saddam's execution was rather hasty, but it seems to have been carefully timed.

The Sunni and Shi'a calenders differ by one day. This bit of trivia turns out to be very important. According to Iraqi law, executions cannot take place on a religious holiday, and Saddam's execution was scheduled on the Sunni Holy Day of Sacrifice.

This is a direct middle finger salute to Sunnis everywhere, especially those in Iraq. It is the Shi'a majority saying, "Take that, you Sunnis--you have no power and you never will by lawful means."

Expect the violence to crescendo.

Saddam Dead

It;s official. He's dead.

Whoo hoo.

Now back to the spinning violent feedback loop that is America's Iraq adventure.

My Uncle Must Be Fuming...

My Uncle Ralph was a Park Service employee, and this must have him livid:

Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to pressure from Bush administration appointees. Despite promising a prompt review of its approval for a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood rather than by geologic forces, more than three years later no review has ever been done and the book remains on sale at the park, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

Jesus H. Chee-rist. My brain hurts.

Nomination for the Most Imaginative Turn of Phrase

...goes to Nicole Bell over at Crooks & Liars:

Krauthammer is spinning and twisting so tightly in this op-ed that he's almost braided himself.,

I agree with her 100%. He is working so hard lately to gin up support for an invasion of Iran, or bombing the living daylights out of said country, that he has become a parody of himself.

It would be comical if it were not so absolutely tragically supported by the Bush Administration.

The View From Your Window

Sully posted this shot by my DH, taken out of our front door at dawn. I shoveled 6, then 4, then DH shoveled another 4 inches-in that order.

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report

Last night, watching Real Time with Bill Maher, I heard Richard Dreyfuss expound upon the lack of civics teaching in schools. I know I am an old fart, but I remember Civics being a subject for my whole freshman year, and I had to take an additional year of American government.

With civics no longer taught in the public schools, TDS and TCR have essentially replaced it, in a fractured and comical fashion. The demographics from the 2006 elections strongly suggest that the two shows on Comedy Central (of all networks!) were instrumental in record voter turnout in younger age groups--up to a 116% increase!

Now Stephen Colbert is doing a riff on his "Better Know A District" segment, doing a "Better Know A Founder" interviewing three different Thomas Jefferson imitators, in the guise of finding the "real" Jefferson and highlighting the real issues of slavery in America from a Founding Father's point of view.

It was brilliant.

Oh Happy Day!

I am singing and dancing for joy today!

I was amazed and moved to tears when Claire McCaskill was declared the winner of the Senate race. Jim (No)Talent was a terrible Senator, not just voting for Bush (rubber stamping) but refusing to listen to his constituents on important issues.

I wrote to oppose the war, the torture bill, NSA wiretapping, and more and got bullshit answers and smug, self important posturing on the issues.

Now he gets to be on the receiving end of the voter's wrath.

Music to mine ears!