You know, my parents and their generation love to say "You've got it made. You don't have to live under the threat of nuclear war."


What utter bullshit that was.

Exploding Head

I read this at Atrios and of course, I had my normal knee-joke head explosion. Then, I did further digging.

It seems to me that the press, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, was much more open about saying "J'Accuse!" when fingerpointing at various nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others. Bill O'Reilly ranted about this too, and it was the only time I ever agreed with him.

Cooperative Research, a left-leaning semi-think tank, has been all up on this topic. They place items in timeline format. What's more, this information has been on their website for over a year.

Uggabugga has spent much time charting out the money flow.

Of course, 28 pages of the 9/11 Report were "redacted." We suspected Saudi Arabia was in there. I'm starting to think Pakistan was implicated as well.

It is imperative that this story be given legs.

I've finally reached 10,000 hitd. And you know what? I think I was my 10,000th hit.

One of natures most beautiful, and meanacing, images.

Meet Fabian, guys. I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about Fabian over the next week or so.

Oh those wacky North Koreans...

w00t! I have a new hurricane to track!

I've always enjoyed Billmon's firey writing. He's smart and knows his stuff. However, a recent post has given me an even deeper respect as he bared his soul for all to see. He's a good guy. And I suggest you go read him now, if you haven't already.

UPDATE: My buddy Walter has some interesting thoughts on Billmon's post that I essentially agree with. I have great respect for Billmon for letting it all out. At the same time, Walter is right too. That does need to be addressed. The playing field is not equal. And it needs to be so. Walter addresses a lot of good points.

In a sense we need to turn back the clock 30 0r 35 years, to recapture that spirit of independence and self-reliance that seems to have been lost in too much of Black America. We are so strong, and deserve our fair share of the pork, but we don’t need anyone to “give us a chance”. We don’t need anyone to tell us how good and noble we are. And we certainly don’t need anyone to hand us anything. We just need them to get out of our way.

While many believe that everyone living happily in the rainbow that is America was Dr. King's dream, I think he had Walter's thoughts in mind too.

Read this Kristof column, and you'll understand why I'm studing a certain authoritarian movement that begins with the letter "f." Speaking of, I'll have an update this weekend. No, I haven't started writing yet, but I do know which direction I'm going to take it down. Next week I'll go searching for an advisor to bounce my ideas off of and so on.


UPDATE: On further reflection, I think I'm being a tad shrill. It was early, and I hadn't had my coffee.

I told you So.

I'm sure everyone already knows this, but North Korea is going to test one of its bombs.
There's really not much else I can say. I've screamed my bloody head off so much about Korea that I'm tired now.

Um. . . . . the video music awards?

That was hot. It was the only part I watched, though.

I'm back online, finally!

Millersville IT is doing an excellent job getting everyone back online after the virus. All the brats bitching that they can't get online (if you happen to read this), shut the hell up. I'll be nice now.

Pakistan Busy Spreading Nukes

We're friends with these people, just remember that.

Pakistan's nuclear proliferation has once again come into focus following investigations by a UN body that implicates Islamabad in the supply of nuclear materials to Iran.

Let's not forget this.

And I'm trying to track down a report that Pakistani nuclear scientists are aiding Al Queda. I know I read it somewhere in the last six months.

Viruses suck. Especially people who don't know how to patch their computers. Very light posting until further notice, because some kids bought the Blaster virus back to school with them.

Blaster Virus

The Blaster virus has destroyed much of my access to the net, thanks to the entering Freshman class of 2007.

Damn them.

*@!^^!!#%!%~&^!@!!!@#%!%$!~^*!^@$##$@#$%#$%!

. . . and this is good because?????!

Voters saying no to Bush?

This from the Federal government's own Voice of America.

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.

The poll marked the first time in a Newsweek survey that supporters of Mr. Bush were out-numbered by those who would not like to see him back remain in office. In April, 52 percent of voters backed the president for a second term, while 38 percent did not.

This means it's time for another war. Those people obviously need to be reminded that the adults are in charge and know what's better for them. And a distraction would be nice.

Italics used to emphasize sarcasm.

To be honest, there is a lot of anger out there that I think the media overlooks. While polls can be skewed-I've had one class already, and one more to go, on how to make polls...change up the methodology and you can get vastly different results- I really do think there is an undercurrent of anger, and impatience, with the Bush Administration. Remember, there are only lies, damn lies, and statistics.

The same Newsweek Poll saw Iraq as a quagmire.

Nearly 70 percent of Americans feel the United States will be bogged down in Iraq for years without achieving its goals, a poll finds.

The Newsweek poll released yesterday also found that nearly 6 of 10 people are concerned that the U.S. military will be overextended should another security threat arise outside Iraq.

Again, impatience. While those in support of the operations in Iraq will say be patient (and then point to Vietnam), it's really tough to be patient in America these days. We are the instant gratification people. We got impatient with dial-up, so now many Americans with net access are switching to broadband. Everything must be faster, better, sooner. I think this poll (even though I said before, the numbers can be skewed) reflects that. We want an instantly pacified Iraq. I think we ought to realize that unless we leave, we're going to be in there till pigs fly. With their own wings that is, I'm not talking about pig transport in airplanes.

However, being the cynic that I am, I predict that those poll numbers will swing back in the other direction in the next two weeks. It's almost time for the "Patriotic Usage of 9/11 Even Though We Stiffed New York City, Stifled the 9/11 Commission, Encroached on Civil-Liberties, And Called Those who Disagree Un-American even though We Really Don't Have That Right" Republican media fest. The debate, already the ugliest in generations, is about to get uglier in the next couple weeks. And their side will win, as it has been winning for the last few years.

A future announcement: I won't be blogging at all that week.

BOGGLED!

This Billmon post has so addled my brain, I can't even think straight. &@@%^! indeed!

Don't mention this to the wingers though. They'll just say "Why do you hate the Iraqi people? Mass graves! Mass graves! Gassing of people! Saddam butcher! Torture!!!"

Even though we're now looking to employ all those who filled those mass graves, gassed those people, and tortured those civillians. Right. This of course, is that much vaunted moral clarity we've been hearing about.

All is well at Casa Millersville. My roommate is a very nice guy. He hails from Osaka. For once, I'm taller than another male. (For the record, if you haven't been taking notes, I'm very short. As in under 5'6" short.) He was surprised I knew a little bit of Japanese because my uncle and aunt were fairly-high level Naval personnel stationed there in the early-to-mid-nineties. This is his first time in the United States too, so he's very, very excited. The international exchange program has done a good job in acquiesing the 20 or so international students to the US (they've had orientation for the last week or so) so he isn't all alone. The British and Chilean young ladies he hangs out with are quite nice, as is the Australian guy (although the Australian guy has been in the US for at least a year or so). Which is good. One of my chief worries (and it's been my chief worry all through college) is dealing with the homesickness of others. Being fairly independent, I've never really gotten homesick (I was too busy trying to get away!) so I've never understood the concept. I think I'm starting to ramble, but I think I owed my readers an update.

As an unrelated aside: Two horrible acts have occured in the Middle East. I condemn both. And for those few on both sides of the spectrum cheering on the deaths of innocents, you're worse than that mold I had to scrub out of my fridge. Enjoy Hell, fucktwits.

Finally settled but too tired to post anything. See ya Sunday, perhaps.


Actually, yes. Sunday will be when I post next. I have just half-a-day to learn some Japanese and gain an insight into Japanese culture before my roommate (yes, he's a Japanese exchange student) moves in. I'm actually kinda nervous. I don't want to cause some horrible faux-pas and be the unwitting end of America cause he'll go back to Japan, become Prime Minister, and nuke the US because I was an asshole or something. Sorry, my tin-foil hat is a bit tight tonight.

Wish me luck, see ya sunday.


oh my god, I'm a senior! (just wait till October 12...I turn 22.)

If you're wondering what I'm up to . . .

I'm discovering that when your mother says you need to throw things away, she's very, very correct.

I'm moving.

Although, I get all my packrat habits (including the 140 pounds of books I just lugged up a flight of stairs) from THEM. Them, as in Parent 1 and parent 2. I need to break the cycle. But after I move the fridge, the TV, the bedsheets, the printer device, this box of junk I found in the closet, my racquetball racket, my board games and of course, the computer I'm using to blog on. Thank god I'm not moving very far.

Interesting site...about Generations. I'm in the midst of moving, so I'll post more on this later this week.

The semester starts on the 25th.

This is cool, guys. The campus police at Millersville have a blog!

Grad School Search, Watch, etc.

I've already decided I'm going to graduate school. Now, the fun of picking one begins. I've got time, but not much. I'm going for Political Science. My research interests (which I've stated in previous posts) are fascism, national-populism, and religious fundamentalism.

1.PSU (Penn State)
2. Howard
3. SUNY Stony Brook
4. SUNY Albany
5. SUNY Binghamton

I have a strong interest in all five of the the above. I'm going to need to visit all five.

6. Temple (a bit close to home...still looking though.)
7. University of Pittsburgh (my brother goes here, and he's territorial...like most males.)
8. Rutgers- New Brunswick
9. SUNY Buffalo
10. University of New Mexico (their students are required to do field research...which intrigued me.)

I have no interest in moving to California, but I'll look at programs out there too.

Minor power fluctuations here in Lancaster, but we had some nasty storms go through.

I'm thinking the mind-boggling outage that occured two days ago could happen anywhere. I'm now stocking up on flashlights and boardgames so I'll have something to do.

A lot of people are knocking the deregulation that could be a possible cause to the failure of the Ohio transmission lines. Pennsylvania has done deregulation right. We mostly use old forms power generation, like nuclear power plants (I live near two, one is the infamous Three Mile Island), gas and coal powered plants, etc. We also use a few hydroelectric power sources and in Western PA, wind power (which private citizens can apparently use to make money.)

We survived without major looting. Now, I hope Congress changes its mind on blocking funding to upgrade the transmission lines and power grid. And I hope whatever gets built is ultra-secure.

I would have particiapted in fair and balnced day more but I had to work, then I decided to behave like a 21 year old........cause my friend Charlene is leavinjg Millersville forever....she's moving back home till she finds a good job. Then some Republicans came, and they can party despite their hypocracy about partying. Anywho, this will suffice as fair and balanced friday even though it's Saturday.



And college students... even though Natural Ice is good...it's not BETTER. Please, please avoid it.

If you email me today and I don't reply, I apologize. Hotmail is down today.

I also had planned on replying to some people today who had written me recently. Again, I apologize. As soon as service is restored, I'll get right back to you.

Oh my god. This is the most disgusting piece of literature I've ever read. My god, they make Fox News look Fair and Balanced..oh wait they already are, so they claim. I meant NewsMax.

Atrios has the best thoughts on this, though and he of course is quite fair and balanced. I'd just tell the editorial board of the Washington Post to go to Hell, along with some other choice curse words.

The liberated Iraqi's have some fair and balanced tips for Northeasterners on how to beat the blackout.

10: SLEEP ON THE ROOF. Without power and hence without air conditioning Iraqis have taken to climbing up stairs in the hot nights. Some install metal bed frames on rooftops, while others simply stretch out on thin mattresses. "We sleep on the roof," said Hadia Zeydan Khalaf, 38, wearing a black head-to-toe abaya in the hot sun. "It's cooler there."

9: SIT IN THE SHADE. Many Iraqis go outside when the power's off. "We sit in the shade," said George Ruweid, 27, playing cards with friends on the sidewalk. Of the U.S. blackout, he said: "I hope it lasts for 20 years. Let them feel our suffering."

8: HEAD FOR THE WATER. "We go to the river, just like in the old days," said Saleh Moayet, 53. Several people said they had seen American beaches on television, and suggested they might be a good place to sit out the blackout. "They have so many beautiful beaches," said Hamid Khelil, 44. "They should go where it isn't so hot."

7: SHOWER FREQUENTLY. "I take showers all day," said Raed Ali, 33. "Before I go up to the roof to sleep, I take a shower and I'm cooler."

6: BUY BLOCKS OF ICE. When refrigerators shut down, there's no better way to keep food cool. Mohammed Abdul Zahara, 24, sells about 20 a day from a roadside table. "When it's hot people buy a lot of ice," he said.

5: CHECK FOR BITTER-ENDERS. "They should go to the power stations and see what the problem is," suggested Ahmed Abdul Hussein, 21. "Maybe there are followers of Saddam Hussein who are sabotaging their power stations. That's what happens here."

4: GET A GENERATOR. Abbas Abdul al-Amir, 53, has one of a long row of shops selling generators in Baghdad's Karadah shopping street. When the power goes out, sales go up. "I sell about 30 generators a day," he said. "When the shutdown lasts I can sell even more."

3: CALL IN THE IRAQIS. Some suggested the Americans ask the Iraqis how to get the power going again. "Let them take experts from Iraq," said Alaa Hussein, 32, waiting in a long line for gas because there was no electricity for the pumps. "Our experts have a lot of experience in these matters."

2: USE FOUL LANGUAGE. "When the power goes out, I curse everybody," said Emad Helawi, a 63-year-old accountant. "I curse God. I curse Saddam Hussein. And I curse the Americans."

And the No. 1 suggestion among Iraqis for Americans suffering without power: TAKE TO THE STREETS. Some said demonstrations can be effective in persuading authorities to turn on the switch. "We held protests. After that we had fewer blackouts," Ahmed Abdul Hussein said without even a hint of sarcasm. "I'd suggest Americans go out and demonstrate."

Heh.

New Yorkers are being very Fair and Balanced in their reactions to the blackout, that has much of the Northeast and major parts of Ontario dark tonight. Wouldn't you agree?


(PA isn't blacked out because it produces more power than it uses. This is the reason why deregulation has worked well in Pennsylvania, and sucked in the Western states.)

The lights are on here, don't worry about me.

Thesis Update

Thesis Update

I haven't done much real work on writing the thesis, as the topic area still isn't fully nailed down. I have been reading extensively about Fascism and religious Fundamentalism.

The reading is taking me to places I hadn't considered, or imagined.

For example: I've written a few cursory pieces on the rise of Hindu fundamentalism and the fascist undertones it has. It's apparently much deeper...there are at least three books written on the subject on sale at Amazon, and more planned. I'm just barely scratching the surface. Indian fascism is a thesis all on its own, but I'm still devoting a chapter to it.

Another example: The interwar period saw a lot of fascist movements develop worldwide. Many were unsuccessful but all were unique to their home country. This makes classifying fascism difficult, I think. I do need to read into this more...especially Weimar Germany, although my thesis is modern, present-day.

A good history of fundamentalism was The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong, although I think she apologizes for Khomeni a bit (my one nit with the book.)

I've also read efforts of American conservatives ( I haven't found it yet abroad...although I wouldn't be surprised) to reconstruct Hitler as a leftist. Sorry...incorrect. Fascism- especially Nazism- is always reactionary against the left and everything about it. It's even reactionary against the center. I could go into this more, but I'd probably just fall on deaf ears.

While there's tons written on Islamic fundamentalism and the "Islamofascist" threat it represents, there is very little on Christianity, and recent events have shown that all religions have that capibility for reactionary violence.

I'm not sure what I'm going to conclude, but I'll let you all know when I nail the idea down into an actual topic instead of the vague topic it is right now. It's not due anytime soon (I won't start the actual writing until January, hopefully) so it may be awhile. Lots more reading ahead.

I do know I want to continue studying this further in graduate school.

Friday is Fair and Balanced Day! Amaze your friends on how often you can use the phrase fair and balanced in polite (and impolite) conversation! Whooo hooo!!!

NO MORE RAIN!

It's official: We've had nearly 18 days of rain!

The pattern is shifting though...soon it'll just be hot and humid, instead of murky and rainy.

Please note the FoxNews swipe in my title. I won't be changing it. OH and Fox? BRING 'EM ON.


UPDATE: I dunno if I'll be noticed by Eschaton, but Walter is also Fair and Balanced. Way to go buddy!


UPDATE #2: I think everyone in the left Blogosphere is going to play. Coooooool.

UPDATE #3: I got a Fair and Balanced mention at Fair and Balanced Eschaton. And Haloscan is down, for the moment.

I'm going to post on this "VICTORY" act some time soon, but first I'm going to print it out. I'm low on toilet paper.

So I'm looking at my last paycheck. Pennsylvania's fiscal year ended in July, and the new taxes, etc. went into effect. Damned if I wasn't shocked...but I think they took out more...

And other coworkers who report their home address as Philadelphia have had hundreds taken out. I'm not sure, but I think Philadelphia's taxes went up too.

Hmmm. . . I'm wondering...

Where the fuck is my tax cut President Bush?


I know I wasn't getting one, since I barely crack 10k a year and my parents are still using me for the child credit, which they can as they did pay for the first two years of school. I was merely making a point, as I've had people tell me even I was helped...and I know they're just eating bullshit and spitting it back out at me.

Poll

Anyone want to guess as to what the new "product" will be come September?

Iraq was 2002. What will the product of 2003 be? North Korea? Iran? California? Syria?

My guess right now is Iran. There's been some noise. Thoughts?

Little Stuff

1. Fox News is suing Al Franken. What wimps. I suggest everyone start using the phrase "Fair and Balanced" in all conversation. Link later.


2. I'm reading "It Can't Happen Here," by Sinclair Lewis. It's. . . disturbing, and as apt now as it was in 1936.

Male Body Issues

Here's an article I relate to. . .

One in five elite male athletes suffers from body-image problems, according to a study released Friday. But unlike girls and women, who often think they're heavier than they should be, these men felt they didn't weigh enough.

"Some male athletes see pictures in men's fitness magazines of big, extremely muscular men and feel that they don't measure up," Jennifer Carter, a psychologist at Ohio State University, said in a news release.

Carter's pilot survey, the results of which were released Friday at the American Psychological Association's annual meeting in Toronto, found that the men surveyed wanted to gain an average of 3.2 pounds.

Aside from being bad for self- confidence, dissatisfaction with body image could lead men to use potentially dangerous performance-enhancing drugs, the study said.

Believe it or not, it's true. It's just not studied enough, I think, because GNC and Vitamin World, and all those online supplement shops, are making billions off of the misery of men. Trust me . . .

GRRRrrrrr

Blogger is very close to getting on my nerves. My contract with them ends in November. I suspect we'll be moving to Movable Type before then. I do like this template though . . . so I'm torn between another 50 bucks with Blogger or some other place.

Europe Boils

Europe is boiling....


so THAT'S where my summer went...it's been muggy and rainy here. The whole town smells like mildew

I have no idea why Blogger ate the archives, but I'll just wait patiently until they return.

Recall

The California Recall looks very, very funny from my perspective. However, I am starting to get the feeling that it's not for those suffering under it (Davis, the people of California, etc.)

I'll send you guys some good karma.

Young Black Democrat

A number of prominent bloggers are doing the rounds on Friday's NY Times article about young Blacks and how the Democratic Party needs to notice them as "more than just their base."

I couldn't agree more. And being in that age group: young (18-35), and Black, I figure I should comment.

*disclamer... although this is largely a criticism of the American electoral system, I am a member of the Democratic Party, at least on the local level here in Lancaster. Despite that, I can be honest in saying I'm increasingly dissolusioned by the national party. Not so fast though, if you're thinking I'm going to switch to the Republicans, think again because I'd rather dry-fist myself before I did any of that. And don't get me started on the 'other' parties. . . *

Before I make this a Black issue, I think I'll address the young issue first. As a whole, young people just are fed up with American politics and that's why as a whole, we don't vote(except those of us who are in the process of becoming snaky political operatives). Back in the day (and I'm not sure when that day was), it used to mean something. Today, we're turned off by the lies, the obfuscations, the snakiness, etc. etc. etc. We're quite the cynical bunch, and it'll just get worse as we age. Wait, that includes Blacks too. It works against us majorly...a good example is Pennsylvania's own Governor Rendell. Part of his campaign was raising the education budget. The Higher Education budget was slashed (although the Republican-held Assembly and Senate has to take some of the blame for this for downplaying Pennsylvania's deficit and generally refusing to compromise), causing the State System to raise tuition. Of course, they don't really pay attention to us kids (and especially us black kids) cause we don't vote.

Somewhere along the way, both Parties ceased looking at the issues of the actual people. Instead, both have concentrated on creating some kind of product and using that product to bash each other up with. When they need something, then, they'll "pander," meaning they'll come looking for help. Generally, it seems to be black people caught up in the middle. That's sad.

Our way of getting back is to sit home on Election Day. Again, not good. . . but look at what we have to put up with.

Prometheus Six has some thoughts.

Here's a metaphor for the choice between voting Democrat, Republican, or not at all. Let's say you're in a locked room that's empty save for a sword, and a filthy, excrement-encrusted towel. You know the door will be unlocked sooner or later, at least for a time. And you accidentally cut yourself deeply on the sword. Do you
a - bind the wound with the filthy towel? (vote Democrat)
b - plug the wound with the edge of the sword? - (vote Republican)
c - bleed to death? (don't vote at all)

Excellent metaphor.

To be honest, I think that the American electoral and party system is deeply flawed, and the elites of both parties fail to notice the fact that Americans in greater and greater numbers are staying home on Election Day. Until they notice, I personally will continue using the filthy towel, because ideologically I agree with the Democrats...that, and the general nastiness of quite a few Republicans I've met, seen on TV, or had comment on this site has all but turned me off to that party.

Japan and the Bomb

This story is a few days old but I think it needs some small legs.

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba warned that the world is moving toward war and accused Washington of "worshipping" nuclear weapons during Wednesday's ceremony marking the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.

Some 40,000 people, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito and British Labour MP George Galloway, attended the ceremony at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and observed a minute of silence from 8:15 a.m., the time a U.S. atomic bomb devastated the city on Aug. 6, 1945.

In his peace declaration, the Hiroshima mayor blamed the United States for making the world a more uncertain place through its policy of undermining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Lately, Japan has made noise that it could, if it wanted to, develop the bomb. And the actions of the Prime Minister were telling. . .

After the ceremony, for the second year running Koizumi left Hiroshima without attending a meeting of atomic bomb victims or without visiting facilities treating elderly A-bomb victims. He is the only post-war prime minister who has refused to do so.

Telling. . . I don't know much about Japanese politics, but I believe, from what I've read, their ruling party isn't too far off ideologically from our ruling party.

I think it's rained here every day for the last two months, which tacked on to the cold and wet spring, and the cold and wet winter, makes this one really rainy year.

Archives Missing

For some reason, Blogger seems to have eaten my archives. We're playing this game again...they piss me off and just when I've had enough, they update with some cool new feature that placates me.

Like the title above. I didn't know I could do that . . . till today.


UPDATE: Ugh, not working.

Read this headline, and I can say it didn't take long....


400 Candidates...wow.

I have Republican friends saying "It's great for Democracy!" Mainly because it's a Democrat getting kicked out. They, of course, clam up when anyone suggests that the same tactics can be used against them, too. And of course, noone wants a national recall provision.

ANSWER: This site IS humor, thanks guys.

I was having a bad day when someone emailed the site to me...I've already apologized for cursing them out. I simply must stop being so reactionary on bad days.

Total Recall



No links, but I really think this California recall is 1. Out of control and 2. Snaky, underhanded, and therefore genius on the part of the Republicans.


Californians, move back east. And bring Silicon Valley with you. We'll welcome you all back with open arms . . .

Go send Earl some good karma.

Ah-Nald is running, thus making the entertainment that is the California Recall even more entertaining. And I can already hear the bad Total Recall jokes.

The entertainment that is the California recall just got more entertaining.

Atrios, incidentially, blogged about this earlier today, but I suspect some of his commenters missed the subtle nuance that is Atrios's humor.

Liberia

Hey, all that good stuff I was saying about the West African peacekeeping force? Remember that? I take it back.

Apparently these people really, really suck.

The Skeptic and Africa Pundit are on the case, and have been on the case for quite some time. It bolsters the case for a stronger American-led force, I think. We could give them some oversight. . . maybe the UN could help.

I can hope that perhaps the West African peacekeeping force has, maybe, improved over the years since Sierra Leone. It's laudable that ECOWAS is intervening, and has done so in the past. They need to clean house, first, so the abuses of the past don't make an already horrific situation worse.

I think everyone needs to go read Jeanne today, cause I'm feeling exactly what she's feeling and I don't really know what to do about it.

9/11 Stonewalling Watch


Sigh.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday that it would decline to provide the Senate with a list of Saudi individuals and organizations that the federal government has investigated for possibly funding al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
The action was the second in two weeks to set the White House and Congress at odds over the Saudis and federal intelligence-gathering related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Moreover, the move contradicted an assertion made last Thursday by a senior Treasury official, Richard Newcomb, who told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in a hearing on Saudi sponsorship of terrorism that the list was not classified and that his agency would turn it over to the Senate within 24 hours.

Ever feel like you've been ranting about something for so long that your voice goes hoarse? And noone listens? Yea...it's kinda like that.

The Saudi involvement in 9/11 is like the worst kept secret ever. Everyone knows they were involved (along with the Pakistani ISI). Yet nothing is ever done. Blah Blah blah.

Although its use was sad, it was necessary to end the war and save lives. In memorandum, take some time today to remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and take some time today to pray that those images never get repeated.

I'm very proud of the Episcopal Church, even though I'm not Episcopalian. Way to NOT use the very backward Bible to choose who can speak God's word and who can not.

Now if certain politicians, conservatives, and yes, liberals too, could do the same thing about that sticky marriage issue. The world will be better off if they could...but...I'm so not holding my breath.

Is this even legal?

he Bush administration is actively seeking to gag or punish social service organizations that challenge the party line on such matters as health care for poor children and HIV prevention, according to a new report. Nonprofits that disagree with the president's own solutions, or go further and blame him for problems in the first place, have come to expect unpleasant consequences. Those might include audits of federal-funds spending and reviews of content, such as workshop literature.

"If you disagree with the administration on ideological grounds, they're going to come down with a hammer. This has huge implications for the free flow of speech in this country," says Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, itself a nonprofit, which released the report last week as part of its 20-year-old mission to monitor White House budget and spending decisions.

Anyone want to play devil's advocate and justify this? I can't see ANYTHING good about it. . . . . .

It reminds me of the argument that came up on campus before the war: "If you get federal aid and disagree with the President, you have no right to that aid so you'd better give it back." That logic sucked...cause there were lots of campus conservatives who opposed Clinton's very existence when he was President and I can bet not a one gave back their aid.

POLL

Is this site humor, or racist?

I really can't tell.

The Philadelphia mayor's race heats up this week with a far-right candidate declaring his run for the mayor's office.

Only in Philadelphia...heheh.

This just in...

Charlie Crystle, of Lancaster, will be running for the Democratic spot to run for Senate in 2004.

More about Crystle, here.


Related: The Pennsylvania Young Democrats.

Hmmmm...US News and World Report (which I subscribe to...I only read the news articles, I swear!) seems to think that the Intelligence agencies are failing America in the War on Terror.

After I finish reading it, I'll report.

I'm violating my rule of NOT posting while angry just to say that those who hide behind the Bible to deny rights to as much at 10% of the American population are nothing but reconstructed bigots. Enough said. That "blah blah blah, I have no problem with homosexuals, but my bible says they're all flaming sinners and they are going to Hell so that's a good reason to deny them rights like marriage and marriage rights but of course I bear them no malice" is such utter bullshit. Reconstructed bigots, end of debate.

This is exactly why I left the Southern Baptists and I may just throw all of Christianity in the trash. In fact, I may just go Agnostic, cause I'm sick of intolerant religious fanatics of all religions spouting their hate and saying "God" or "Allah" or "YHWH" or "Buddah" or "Vishnu" said it was okay. Fuck that shit. I'm sick of people saying "The Bible says this, so you can't do that." I'm fucking sick and tired of it. And fuck you all for saying it.

And you know what? God is laughing at all you people. I know She is.


(Sorry...research for my thesis is starting to get to me...and a certain running argument has gotten under my skin.)

Interesting little article about Blacks and Liberia.

I'm gung-ho about it, and I'm surprised that most Blacks aren't...at least according to the article. I gotta think about this some more.

When I get back to blogging full time (likely Monday), I'll post something good about Liberia.

Sometime in the next few days I'm going to surpass 10,000 hits. It's taken nearly 11 months to reach this point so I want to give a heartfelt thanks to my readers who have put up with me over the last 11 months.

(The Storm turns one on September 15.)

Alright Agent Z...where are you!?

Forgive me for being a 'linker,' as I'm still not in the mood to think (yea...work issues...I'm definitely appling for supervisor next Summer so morons can be promptly fired...) but this is ridiculous.

The 2003 hurricane season is here, and that means a whole new list of names such as Larry, Sam and Wanda ready to make tropical-storm history.

Although Spanish and French names are included in this year’s lineup, among them Juan and Claudette, which struck Texas last week, popular African American names, like Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn, are nowhere to be found.

Some black lawmakers don’t seem to mind, but Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) does. “All racial groups should be represented,” said Lee.

Hurricane Shaniqua? Shanene? LaQuisha? Antwon?

Stupid.

I think you have BETTAH things to be doing Sheila Jackson Lee, instead of whining about Hurricane names. And for what its worth, the WMO, does a good job in adding Spanish, English, and French names to the list. The names are for your benefit anyway...before the 1950s, hurricanes were not named. This, of course, could lead to confusion in the media, especially during active hurricane seasons. Imagine not knowing if weaker hurricane #2 or much stronger monstercane #5 was headed your way.

End of rant. I'm tired.

There really is something deeply wrong if the President himself, a man who's supposed to uphold the laws of the land (which are secular, being that we are a secular country) and the Tenets of the Constitution, comes out in favor of a Constitutional Amendment that could deny rights to a minority group that may be as many as TEN PERCENT of the American population. That's really all I can say about that idiocy in the Rose Garden the other day.

Thus, I have two challenges. I have yet to see any social conservative come up for a valid reason without cloaking it in their hateful little God.

1. How would two men or two women getting married and having all the privliages that married people get and enjoy, threaten a man and woman getting married?

2. Can you explain this argument in Constitutional and secular terms? Translated: You may not invoke God. He's NOT in the Constitution. We have seperation of Church and State in this country.

My prediction is that noone can do it.