Think, dammit.

The lies and distortions of Zell Miller.

2004-09-08T18:49:00.001-04:00

Read all about it.

This is one of the most direct indictments I have seen in the mainstream media about deliberate distortion of John Kerry's record. It's about friggin' time.

Hell freezes over, then unfreezes.

2004-08-27T14:17:00.000-04:00

President Bush made two stunning admissions yesterday in a half-hour interview with the New York Times. First, he hung the Swift Boat Veterans for "Truth" out to dry, saying that he does not believe John Kerry lied about his war record. Eat that, SBV"T"ers. (He goes on to castigate all 527 groups in general, still refusing to condemn the attack ads.)

He also, incredibly, admitted for the first time that he had made a "miscalculation" about what postwar Iraq would turn out to be, winning him the prestigious "No Shit, Sherlock" award. However, the honeymoon of truth and clarity was, of course, over all too soon. Check out this all-too-familiar Bush logic, according to the article:
"Bush insisted that the 17-month-long insurgency that has upended the administration's plans for the country was the unintended by-product of a 'swift victory' against Saddam Hussein's military, which fled and then disappeared into the cities, enabling them to mount a rebellion against the American forces far faster than Mr. Bush and his aides had anticipated."

In other words, the reason we haven't won yet is because we've already won.

This moment of Bush Logic™ has been brought to you by the letters FL, and the number 537.

Your caption here.

2004-08-23T15:32:00.000-04:00

(your caption here)

This is a picture of college-age George W. Bush, sucker-punching a rugby opponent. Apparently it comes from one of the Yale yearbooks; I don't know, I just lifted the pic from Tom Tomorrow's fantastic site. The caption reads: "George Bush delivers illegal, but gratifying right hook to opposing ball player."

Now I don't wanna bag on any Yale yearbook editor's skills, but while it gets the job done, as captions go, that one's a little boring. So I have opened the floor to your suggestions for a better caption...

Here's mine:

"George W. Bush valiently attacks a suicide bomber before he can detonate his rugby ball."

Your turn!

If John Kerry can't be both Catholic and pro-choice, how come George Bush gets to be Methodist and pro-war?

2004-08-19T17:44:00.000-04:00

[Update: go here for a much more extensive, quality break-down of the same topic.]

Not that you asked, but here's a letter I just sent to my local papers, painfully limited to 200 words:

Some have claimed that John Kerry isn't a true Catholic simply for being pro-choice. I believe that Kerry's religious views should be left between him and God. Those who wish to make this a campaign issue would do well to consider George W. Bush's standing with his church too.

UMC leaders have attempted to discuss their concerns over the Iraq War with President Bush since before it began. Yet, he still refuses to meet with them. At the 2004 General Conference, Bishop Melvin Talbert, ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops, said "One of the pains on my heart has been his claim to be ultra religious, yet he has not found the time to receive a delegation of United Methodist bishops."

Paragraph 165C, in the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline, reads in part: "We believe war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ...[we] insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them..."

If John Kerry can't be both Catholic and pro-choice, how come George Bush gets to be Methodist and pro-war?

(Sources are here and here.)

Bush Supporter Celebrates Free Speech

2004-08-19T15:33:00.000-04:00

Bush Supporter Celebrates Free Speech

This picture comes courtesy of the Portland Tribune, a free local paper, and was picked up in the blogosphere by Don Overwith at Daily Kos.

Overwith writes,

"This picture makes me furious. The smug and serene look on the face of that woman just perfectly exemplifies the arrogance of 'dissent is unpatriotic'."

Well said. Though to be fair, I'm not going to castigate all Republicans based on this one lunatic. Just the "dissent is unpatriotic" ones.

A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican

2004-08-18T13:05:00.000-04:00

This is such a great article:

Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican

By John Gray
Cincinnati, Ohio

Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn't think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.

Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republicans would still be sitting in the dark.)

He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show, the host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.) Joe agrees: "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I'm a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Site of the day

2004-08-16T14:45:00.000-04:00

Conservative Patriotism
Originally uploaded by obietom.

Head on over to USA HEGEMONY for all your conservative bumper-sticker needs. Yes, the 'Halliburton flag' sticker is serious.

Bush rally-goers have to be told to cheer.

2004-08-16T13:02:00.000-04:00

It's true. I wonder why they deemed it necessary...

The article, which at first glance appeared to have been written by our friendly neighborhood Bush-lickers, reads in part:

The [New Mexico Rally] tickets went to busloads of pre-screened party faithful -- who poured in hours in advance -- to be greeted and organized by Bush campaign staffers.

"We don't want anybody with a dry throat. We want you yelling for the president!" they were told.

<-----snip----->

As relaxed and affable as a talk show host, the president answers friendly questions -- which are often not questions at all.

"Mr. President, I don't have a question. I've got three thank-yous," said one supporter.

He also helps his handpicked guests to make a point.

"I don't know, Linda, if you're in a position to say this. But most people who go back to school with the new jobs end up making more money."

Linda: "Absolutely."

<-----snip----->

"I think it was more of a rally to get the supporters rallied up, so I think it served its purpose," said a guest.

But what about inviting some voters who haven't yet made up their minds?

"You mean the people who don't support Bush? They're only gonna sit and chat and you won't get to hear anything," said a backer.

It's all about getting out the message without any distractions, and making sure that there's no public argument to spoil the party.

----------------
God forbid. Can't have too many people speaking freely! They might say something we don't like! (See below.)

Anybody seen Minority Report?

2004-08-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

If you haven't, it takes place in DC, about 50 years down the line. The plot is based around this Orwellian premise that the police can determine in advance whenever a murder is about to be committed--"Precrime." At that point, they descend into the scene and arrest the would-be murderer before he/she can go through with it.

So what the hell does this have to do with politics? Glad you asked.

I just came across this article, which discusses how the FBI has been interrogating anti-war protesters in an effort to stem possible violence at anti-Bush rallies, etc. There's just one problem: nobody's done anything yet.

From the article:

F.B.I. officials are urging agents to canvass their communities for information about planned disruptions aimed at the convention and other coming political events, and they say they have developed a list of people who they think may have information about possible violence. They say the inquiries, which began last month before the Democratic convention in Boston, are focused solely on possible crimes, not on dissent, at major political events.

<-----snip----->

The unusual initiative comes after the Justice Department, in a previously undisclosed legal opinion, gave its blessing to controversial tactics used last year by the F.B.I in urging local police departments to report suspicious activity at political and antiwar demonstrations to counterterrorism squads. The F.B.I. bulletins that relayed the request for help detailed tactics used by demonstrators - everything from violent resistance to Internet fund-raising and recruitment.

In an internal complaint, an F.B.I. employee charged that the bulletins improperly blurred the line between lawfully protected speech and illegal activity. But the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, in a five-page internal analysis obtained by The New York Times, disagreed.

------------------
Actually, I may have been too hasty. I mean, if John Ashcroft says it's Constitutional, that's good enough for me.

Republicans pretend to have "Delegate Diversity"

2004-08-11T18:33:00.000-04:00

repub scam 2
Originally uploaded by obietom.

You see this graph here? It comes from the "Delegate Diversity" section of the Republican National Convention's website. It bears the heading, "Percentage Increase Of Ethnically Diverse Delegates between the 2000-2004 National Conventions."

Note how in this graph, the Democrats appear to be woefully behind as far as their diverse delegates are concerned. They're sitting at a roughly 20% increase, compared with the unbelievable 70% increase of the Republicans. Worse still, this is all technically true! How could those Democrats have gotten so far behind the times?

Simple: this graph measures the increase, not the percentage of actual delegates. In other words, since the Democrats have actually invited people of color to the convention prior to 2004, their overall increase isn't that high--from about 33% to 40%. But according to the second graph on that same site, the Republicans have increased their minority delegates from 10% to a whopping 17%, also referred to as considerably less than the 40% of people of color present at the Democratic National Convention.

Knowing this, you really should go over and check out the RNC diversity site. It's seriously funny--and it's a wonderful example of how you can appear to prove anything with statistics, when you're really lying through your teeth.

Alan Keyes throws his hat into the ring.

2004-08-10T00:34:00.000-04:00

Alan Keyes has announced that he will become the latest Illinois GOP contender for the Senate to get his ass kicked by Barack Obama. But you know what? More power to him. I'm actually glad that Obama doesn't have to run unopposed, and I imagine the debates will be pretty interesting.

Having said that, I have to question what, exactly, in hell the Illinois GOP leaders hope to accomplish. This cannot possibly have been well thought-out. ("Gentlemen, Barack Obama has totally humiliated us at every turn. He is intelligent, charismatic, well-spoken, and enormously popular. Therefore, we must run an opponent so extreme in contrast that everyone in the nation will assume that we're totally out of touch with any semblance of political reality." "An excellent idea!")

Actually, though I can't say very much in defense of his stances, I will say this: Keyes' uncompromising view of federalism is refreshing, and proves him to be a bold, decisive leader who stands by his beliefs. For example, four years ago, when so many others kept silent, Alan Keyes stood up and publically denounced Hillary Clinton, in the name of that principle he holds so dear:

"I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent people there, so I certainly wouldn't imitate it."

Of course not! That's right. Damn right.

(Thanks to the Bush-lickers at Lickin' Bush in '04 for bringing this to my attention.)

Get over it already.

2004-08-04T17:56:00.000-04:00

There are many pundits and others who are irate about the nature of "deception" in Fahrenheit 9/11. I say, enough! We know you're disappointed, shocked, and saddened by the bias. But really...isn't that a bit intellectually dishonest?

It's an opinion piece. Not objective journalism. (Unlike Fox News, Moore doesn't even have to pretend to be non-biased.)

I wonder how many other opinion-venders (i.e. columnists, commentators, etc.) have had their works picked through with as great a scrutiny as Michael Moore is undergoing. 59 deceits in F911? Give me a break--59 deceits is about average for any one Ann Coulter column.

Many of the "59 deceits" complain of Moore presenting an incomplete set of facts or using them in such a way that indicates one thing but could actually mean something different. Fine, but to me, that seems to be the nature of the beast: how many columnists/commentators can you think of who are guilty of this same criteria? Consider the treatment of facts by the likes of O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Coulter, Sowell, Thomas, Malkin, Franken, Dowd, Rove, etc. How many of these would stand up to an equally severe litmus test by Kopel?

It's funny to me that so many people are getting all bent out of shape that F911 is liberally biased and skewed in his particular partisan direction. It's nothing more than what any of the aforementioned would do as well if they had the skill Michael Moore possesses with a camara.

[Update: go here for the origin of this post and a continuing discussion.]

A wonderful metaphor.

2004-07-29T15:12:00.000-04:00

One of my composition professors, Jeffrey Mumford, has come up with the best metaphor I've ever heard regarding the possible second term of George W. Bush. It goes like this...

Let's say you were going on vacation and needed a house sitter. You hire this guy, let's call him 'George,' to come over and take care of your pets, plants, financial assets, and in general watch over your belongings.

But when you return home, everything is in disarray:

-The money's all gone.
-The plants are all dead.
-Your neighbors hate you.

To top it off, George tells you that while he was sleeping, somebody burned down part of the house, so he sent your dog out after him. Unfortunately, the culprit escaped. But then, George decides to sic your dog on this random, unrelated other guy that he's had a grudge against for years, and now your dog is dead as well!

So here's the thing: if this were really about house-sitting, is there any way in hell that George would ever get asked to come back? Not on your life. Which begs the obvious question: why would anyone even entertain such a thought when it comes to our commander in chief?

The lesser-known Roman god 'Ironicus' makes an appearance: Bill O'Reilly calls Howard Dean a "bad guy."

2004-07-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

From the O'Reilly section on the Fox News website:

Time now for the "Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day." I have to tell you that most Democrats have treated me and The Factor personnel here very nicely, with one exception. Howard Dean has been disrespectful, and he, as we say in my old neighborhood, is a genuinely bad guy. He's repeatedly declined to speak with us. Producer Rich McHugh tried to find out why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH MCHUGH, PRODUCER: Governor Dean, Mr. O'Reilly wants to know why you won't come on The Factor. Is that a no comment?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now, at this juncture, I didn't want to talk to the guy. But I will say this — Democrats are very smart at not selecting this man as their candidate. To have done so would have been beyond ridiculous. I don't know what's his problem, I really don't.

Gosh...I wonder why Howard Dean is being so disrespectful as to decline an invitation by The Great Bill O'Reilly to appear on "The Factor" (which, as we all know is the pinnacle of modern journalism)? What a missed opportunity to be sure.

Actually, I sincerely hope that Howard Dean does decide to appear on "The Factor." There's nothing I'd enjoy watching better than Howard Dean ripping O'Reilly a new one.

Shocking news!

2004-07-27T12:11:00.000-04:00

A recent poll, conducted by BET/CBS finds that African American voters overwhelmingly prefer Kerry to Bush. In other news, Duh.

Here's one of my favorite questions though, ironically appearing by itself in the middle of otherwise serious questions about whether people think Kerry or Bush is likely to lie to them:

Q34: Regardless of how you intend to vote, which candidate do you think has more soul -- John Kerry or George W. Bush?

** REGISTERED VOTERS **

(numbers refer to Total, Men, Women)

John Kerry 64 68 61
George W. Bush 11 9 12
Both equally (vol.) 2 3 1
Neither (vol.) 12 12 11
DK/NA 11 8 15

On being accused of "not supporting the troops."

2004-05-21T09:59:00.000-04:00

Been a long time since I updated. Sorry about that--I've been spending a lot of time over at Bionic Jive, a site that is much better laid out than this, with better posting capabilities. Plus, people actually visit that blog from time to time, so...you know.

Anyway, this was a thought that originated in a comment over there...I was trying to come up with a good analogy about being told I don't support the troops, or I don't love America because I'm against the war, or some other such nonsense, and I came up with this:

(Setting: a playground, during recess at an elementary school.)

BILLY (crying): WAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Timmy just beat me up in the bathroom!!!

MARY: No he didn't! You're crazy! He hasn't gone to the bathroom all day!

BILLY'S BROTHER, BOBBY: Where is he? I'll kill him!

BILLY (to himself): heh heh heh.

MARY: This is a bad idea.

You see, Billy lied about getting beaten up by Timmy, because he wanted Bobby to go kick Timmy's ass. Why? Nobody really knows...

(later, after school)

BOBBY: You're gonna die, biz-natch!

TIMMY: (bows)

Timmy has a black belt in Kyokushin Karate. Even though Bobby is much bigger and stronger, this might not be as simple as Bobby and Timmy thought...

(They fight. Bobby's sheer size advantage is the only thing that keeps him in the game, and rather than being a quick one-two like he initially thought it would be, it's taking bloody forever, as it's hard to lay a punch on Timmy without getting kicked in the balls.

The fight goes on for hours...much longer than anyone expected it would. Billy's cheering from the sidelines, while simultaneously trying to convince Mary it's not as bad as it looks. Mary maintains that Billy shouldn't have lied to Bobby, getting him to attack Tommy in the first place.)

------------

Now, the outcome of this situation is yet unknown. But here's the relevant question:

What's the worst problem facing Bobby right now? Is it (a) Mary's protesting (her fault), or (b) the fact that Bobby's in that situation at all (Billy's fault)? Which is more dangerous to Bobby at present?

Put in this light, it seems pretty much like a no-brainer to me, especially given Billy's bald-faced lie.

Fucking brilliant.

2004-05-02T16:56:00.000-04:00

This letter appeared in the Modesto Bee (my hometown newspaper) today. It's possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen in the Bee, comics included:

This letter should serve as a notice to all letter writers, editorial writers and anyone else prone to public comment about President Bush. Referring to him as an "idiot," "imbecile" or such derogatory terms may result in your imprisonment for a total of 20 years -- five years for libel and 15 years for disclosure of classified information.

--DAVID A. BULTENA

Congrats, Mr. Bultena, you had me rolling on the floor. Way to tell it like it is, and thanks for further restoring my hope in my hometown.

Hey, speaking of the March for Womens' Lives...

2004-04-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

You wanna know what really pisses me off about the "right-to-lifers"? A whole lot of 'em don't actually seem to give a damn about the lives of the women they seek to deny abortions. These same politicians/pundits/Bushies/whathaveyou are the first to oppose sex education, welfare, childcare options, pre-natal/post-natal time off work/school so that Mom can actually take care of her un-aborted child without her life falling apart.

Furthermore, the number of un-adopted kids is staggering, and these same blowhards insist that adoption is the only way to go, and simaltaneously campaign against allowing gays and lesbian couples (who WANT to adopt) the right to do so.

In other words, they are only "Pro-Life" until the cell-matter or fetus is born, at which point the lives of both mother and child go back to whichever shat-upon social standing from whence they came--and boy, isn't that sickening. That's why I am in favor of protecting a woman's right to choose--it's like, don't even talk to me about this until you've addressed the systemic problems first.

AZZ WHOOPIN'!

2004-04-27T02:51:00.000-04:00

John Kerry continues with the punches--I gotta say, at this rate, he might turn me into a full-blown groupie. For some reason that completely defies logic or political foresight, Republican officials such as Karen Hughes continue to attack Kerry on various pithy details about his service in Vietnam. Well, today he responded, beautifully, on "Good Morning America":

"This is a controversy that the Republicans are pushing...The Republicans have spent $60 million in the last few weeks trying to attack me, and this comes from a president and a Republican Party that can't even answer whether or not he showed up for duty in the National Guard. I'm not going to stand for it."

Oh, but it gets better. Here, he's addressing the Republican hypocrites, such as, well, everyone who's making these attacks (and including Bush, Cheney, Hughes, etc.):

"I did obviously fight in Vietnam, and I was wounded there, and I served there and was very proud of my service. To have these people, all of whom made a different choice, attack me for it is obviously disturbing."

That's fuckin' right. I don't have any problem with people opting not to go to Vietnam in the first place. I wouldn't have either, I'm sure. But I'm sure as hell NOT gonna accuse ANYONE who volunteered to go to war of shirking their duties, you know? That's just dumb.

Kerry actually has a soul

2004-04-26T10:38:00.000-04:00

...unlike his opponent.

Check out this brilliant one-liner from a speech the other day (thanks to dan at MusicForAmerica.org for carrying the story):

...Kerry’s 25 minute speech was interrupted briefly by a small group of protesters who put “flip-flop” sandals on their hands and clapped and chanted that Kerry “flop-flops” on issues.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Kerry responded. “I’ll send people to George Bush’s rallies and they can clap their unemployment checks together."

ZING!!! I wish I coulda been there.

Your fearless leader at work.

2004-04-25T15:25:00.000-04:00

Caveat: by "Your," I am referring to the one person every other week (or less) who actually stumbles across this thing; by "fearless," I actually mean "quite afraid of lots of things, actually;" by "leader" I mean, "well, I was a drum major once;" and by "at work," I mean, "blogging."

I am engaged in a relatively heated debate about whether or not this guy who wrote this ridiculous article and got fired was fired because he was white and addressing a race issue or rather, as I tend to believe, because he wrote a ridiculous article.

You'll have to read it to fully understand the gist of it, but it's based on the notion that black people are responsible for closing the racial gap--by having better role models. And that's it.

Which is totally interesting, because here I've thought all along that social and economic inequities between white people and black people were due to centuries of oppression and institutionalized racism. Where did I go wrong?

So anyway, it's worth taking a look at.

Incidently, these articles are worth taking a look at too:

Defining "White Privilege" by Kendall Clark

White Privilege by Robert Jensen

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh

Heh heh heh.

2004-04-24T11:47:00.000-04:00

Some nice humor can be found at buckfush.com. They make cartoons by taking usually real photos and adding funny captions.

This is a particularly good example. Enjoy!

Well, THIS is appropriately disturbing.

2004-04-24T10:14:00.000-04:00

Check out this video. It's a nicely-done peek at the Bush agenda from a Bush-lovin' Texan.

(Thanks to James W. Johnson.)

Inglewood voters tell Walmart where to stick it!

2004-04-23T03:34:00.000-04:00

Huzzah! It's easy to get all worked up about my conservative hometown in the central valley, but I forget that California voters are actually fairly on the ball (with one Terminator of an exception, as well as anti-Latino measures and the anti-gay Prop. 22 a few years back.

But anyway, back to Inglewood wiping their asses with corporate America, here's what happened:

WALMART says, "Hello Inglewood, we want to enslave your community."

INGLEWOOD REPRESENTATIVES: What?!

WALMART: Uh, we mean, we wish to build a Walmart in Inglewood.

INGLEWOOD: Hmm...let's think about this...kill small businesses (since any one Walmart can undersell any local business for however long it takes for them to die, because that local Walmart does not have to make a profit for years, because it's already a giant corporation), provide plenty of minimum wage jobs with crappy benefits and no upward mobility, and a giant freaking eyesore that helps Inglewood turn into Everytown, USA.

INGLEWOOD: How about, NO, Walmart.

WALMART: Please?

INGLEWOOD: Let me put this another way: F*** OFF AND DIE. NO. NO, NO, NO NO NO.

WALMART: Hmm.

WALMART: Hey, voters! Pass this proposition to stimulate the local economy, create jobs for hundreds, and force every small business in town into bankruptcy!

INGLEWOOD VOTERS: What?!

WALMART: We mean, we wish to build a Walmart in your community, and your representatives won't allow it. So please sign here (we'll pay you if you do!) [and they did!], and remember to vote for us! :) :) :) :) :)!!!

INGLEWOOD VOTERS: (SMACK DOWN)

WALMART: ...(sniffle)...

OBIETOM: ALL RIGHT! WAY TO GO!!!

-------------------

So there you have it. Like a dream, isn't it? Congratulations, Inglewood.

In defense of my hometown, Modesto

2004-04-20T21:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess we're not ALL bad! Check out the number of members listed for the different
local meetups.

Democracy for America is actually well in first place with 148 people signed up, and John Kerry is a strong second, with 96. Predictably, Townhall.com has a solid 56 members, beating the Democrats at 44, but this more than doubles the Republicans, who've got a paltry 20. C'mon, guys...even Dennis KUCINICH in Modesto is doing better than y'all (23!!).

Anyway, it would appear that there might be a fairly decent framework for organization this summer, to help get out the vote! We shall see...

The Dangerous Ramifications of George Bush, Christian Extremist

2004-04-16T16:26:00.000-04:00

Eric Alterman provides the following:

"I'm here for a reason," Bush told Karl Rove shortly after the attacks, "and this is going to be how we're going to be judged." A close friend of Bush's told one reporter, "I think, in his frame, this is what God has asked him to do." And a "senior administration official," speaking to Bob Woodward explained, Bush "really believes he was placed here to do this as part of a divine plan."

...um...

Ok. So who's comfortable with that? Dubya believes that he has been ordained by God to implement a "divine plan." Sort of sheds a bit of light on the his comments regarding us being on a "crusade," and his seeing of everything as good/evil, doesn't it?

Alterman continues, quoting Secretary Powell on Bush's "negociating style":

(Powell): "He tries to persuade others why that is the correct position. When it does not work, then we will take the position we believe is correct."

So in other words, he comes up with his divine plan, then tries to convince everyone else, then when that fails, goes along with it anyway. This from our "uniter, not a divider."

Now let's throw something else into the mix. Speaking to Congress on September 20, 2001, President Bush said, "Our war with terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end...until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." Just last week, Condoleeza Rice echoed the same sentiment before the 9/11 hearing panel: "Since [9/11], America has been at war. And under President Bush’s leadership, we will remain at war until the terrorist threat to our Nation is ended."

Given the failure to meet our primary objective in Iraq (protecting ourselves from the "immediate threat" of WMDs), I am more than a little bit concerned about this deadly combination:

1. George W. Bush believes he is waging God's Holy War, and is helping to fulfill God's purpose.
2. George W. Bush believes that he is right no matter what, and who cares what anyone else thinks? He'll do whatever he needs to, with total support or minimal support--it's all the same to him and his version of God.
3. George W. Bush believes that we will continue to be at war even after we manage to annihilate al Queda, even in the face of an obviously problematic situation in which the war in Iraq is breaking apart and has not helped us defeat any "terrorists" who have posed a significant threat to us.

But don't let all this scare you: you're Americans. We're safe no matter what. Alterman reports that Bush told his closest advisors, "At some point, we may be the only ones left. That's OK with me. We are America."

I, for one, somehow don't feel very reassured by this. Do you? Please donate to John Kerry or to the DNC.

Happy Easter to all.

2004-04-11T12:47:00.000-04:00

This is a time when all good Christians have come together in celebration of one of the biggest events of the Christian year:

The flogging of the Easter bunny.

Wait...what?!

Yes, the flogging of the bunny, as reenacted by a church in PA this past weekend.

"...many parents and children were upset," the article states, "when a Pennsylvania church trying to teach about Jesus' crucifixion performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs."

Ye gads...

I hope I'm not the only one who finds this particular outbreak of "Passion Fever" a liiiiiiiittle bit over the top.

THIS, on the otherhand, is a LOT more funny:

2004-04-10T16:31:00.000-04:00

Same idea, different guy. A picture of John Ashcroft, infamous for his callous disregard for civil liberties and breasts. Check it out.

A bit sobering.

2004-04-09T19:23:00.000-04:00

http://www.danielsh.com/warpres/warpresMED.jpg

This is a picture of George W. Bush, created by Joe over at American Leftist. It is comprised of hundreds of photos of U.S. soldiers that have perished in Iraq.

I'm not quite sure how to describe it...I feel that it is a really good example of the power and responsibility that art has in times such as these.

Oh, and on the subject of politics.

2004-04-09T17:16:00.000-04:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Colombus' Greetings from the new world - A Haiku

2004-04-09T17:05:00.000-04:00

The grass is greener
Where that native is standing
Hey Moe, grab a gun.

Inglewood voters tell Walmart where to stick it!

2004-04-07T12:27:00.000-04:00

Huzzah! It's easy to get all worked up about my conservative hometown in the central valley, but I forget that California voters are actually fairly on the ball (with one Terminator of an exception, as well as anti-Latino measures and the anti-gay Prop. 22 a few years back. Today's HOMOPHOBE OF THE DAY award goes to everyone who voted for that).

But anyway, back to Inglewood wiping their asses with corporate America, here's what happened:

WALMART says, "Hello Inglewood, we want to enslave your community."

INGLEWOOD REPRESENTATIVES: What?!

WALMART: Uh, we mean, we wish to build a Walmart in Inglewood.

INGLEWOOD: Hmm...let's think about this...kill small businesses (since any one Walmart can undersell any local business for however long it takes for them to die, because that local Walmart does not have to make a profit for years, because it's already a giant corporation), provide plenty of minimum wage jobs with crappy benefits and no upward mobility, and a giant freaking eyesore that helps Inglewood turn into Everytown, USA.

INGLEWOOD: How about, NO, Walmart.

WALMART: Please?

INGLEWOOD: Let me put this another way: FUCK OFF AND DIE. NO. NO, NO, NO NO NO.

WALMART: Hmm.

WALMART: Hey, voters! Pass this proposition to stimulate the local economy, create jobs for hundreds, and force every small business in town into bankruptcy!

INGLEWOOD VOTERS: What?!

WALMART: We mean, we wish to build a Walmart in your community, and your representatives won't allow it. So please sign here (we'll pay you if you do!) [and they did!], and remember to vote for us! :) :) :) :) :)!!!

INGLEWOOD VOTERS: (SMACK DOWN)

WALMART: ...(sniffle)...

OBIETOM: YEEEEEE-HAW!!!

-------------------

So there you have it. Like a dream, isn't it? Congratulations, Inglewood.

We interupt that last tirade...

2004-04-06T13:51:00.000-04:00

...well, upstage it is more like it. Check this out for a good laugh (and an excellent right wing make-over!).

More Modesto Bee Letter Goodness

2004-04-06T10:48:00.000-04:00

Gosh, I could devote an entire blog to the literary wonders of my fellow Modestans!

So here's an interesting twist that we don't get every day. A concerned Turlock citizen (Turlock is next to Modesto) writes a letter defending straight families from negative press:

"...It takes much more than love to make a family. It takes not only a partnership, but hard work. Emotional and mental problems and abuse are not only relegated to "straight families." These issues can arise in any family -- gay or straight."

She's right, you know...I, for one, think it's high time that we stop negatively depicting hetero families. Gay families get all the good press, and it's just not fair, you know?

Well, at least she wasn't disrespectful or deluded in her letter...which unfortunately causes her to lose the newest, hottest contest since Who's Line is it, Anyway? That's because for the first time ever, we are proud to present OBIETOM'S LOCAL HOMOPHOBE OF THE DAY AWARD!!! Congratulations to Rick Redner for the following gem:

"I'm growing truly tired of hearing that every couple who is committed has a "right" to get married. I am going to make this prediction: If we allow civil unions or marriage to gay couples, it will be less than a year before a gay couple decides they now want the opportunity to add a member of the opposite sex to that union. I say this because there are many bisexual individuals. They will find a marriage that only allows them to express one side of their sexuality discriminatory. They will demand equal protection under the law for the expression of their bisexuality in committed relationships.

God ordained marriage between a man and a woman and for thousands of years every culture has accepted this. As a nation, we have not become more enlightened; we are becoming morally bankrupt."

Congratulations, Dick! I mean, Rick! This prestigious award is hereby awarded to you for being more of a prick than...well, [insert your own joke here].

Letters in the Modesto Bee, my hometown newspaper

2004-04-05T09:35:00.000-04:00

So every Saturday, on the front of the Modesto Bee's "Life" section, they feature a "Faith and Values" segment, with some sort of cover story. Apparently, last Saturday's story was about Rosie O'Donnell and her partner. For a good insight into my community, read on:

From Lisa Burris, concerned citizen:

I cannot help but wonder if I'm alone in feeling a bit offended finding the picture of Rosie O'Donnell and her lover on the front of the Faith & Values section (March 27). What place did it have there? In turning the page, I was even more upset to find it opposite the children's page with current and historical information and other informational tidbits that I usually encourage my children to check out.
I appreciate having some choices as a parent, thank you very much, and you gave me no choice. No Modesto Bee that day.

And this gem from Sheila Jarvis:

What do two women breaking the law have to do with faith and values? And if it is perversion, as a lot of your readers feel it is, why is it next to the Mini Page for Kids?

:::Sigh:::

Oh well, give 'em another twenty or thirty years, and we'll see what happens...

2004-03-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

Declassify! Declassify declassify declassify!!!

Wouldn't it be GREAT if, immediately following Condi's testimony, all the Clarke correspondence and prior testimony became declassified? What joy we would have in comparing notes!

Don't think it's a possibility? Think again...

Condi is only here before us now but for the grace of enough people like us making a huge stink about getting her to testify under oath, and the resulting flow of bad press which ensued was enough to give the Bushies great pause.

We must now do the same on the issue of total declassification of the aforementioned! If we can make this a big enough issue, not only might it create another storm of negative press, but if Condi sees the possibility of the floor droppoing out from under her while she's on the stand, she's liable to be much more honest.

So declassify! Forcing Condi to the stand part of the battle, forcing her to be honest is the rest of it! Call your Congressmen/women!

2004-03-30T11:21:00.000-05:00

Condi will testify--what this means.

Even though many seem worried about what this will do to the developments thus far, I don't think this is all that bad.

I mean, granted, what's unsettling about this development is that it totally reverses the Bush strategy up until this point (i.e. attack, then abandon ship), leaving us scratching our heads as to what in hell is going on. Knowing how meticulous Rove is, we assume that they must have already figured out a way to fuck us over.

Not necessarily so. To me, the fact that the Bush team has been so adamant about Rice NOT testifying is a pretty good sign that, at worst, she may possibly neutralize some of the negative press they've been getting as a result of not letting her testify until now. Remember that putting her on to lie was ALWAYS an option, and if it would have been advantageous to do so, they damn well would have trotted her out already.

I think that, rather, they've been forced into this, and that their main goal is simply to neutralize bad press. They'll do that first by simply having Condi testify, a bold reversal that says, "Look, we're not deceitful and totally closed and secretive afterall!" and second, by continuing the attack on Clarke, which, frankly, won't be really any more defined by the press in that forum than it is already.

Wouldn't it be really great if, at some point right after Condi testifies, that ALL of Clarke's correspondences and prior testimony is declassified? I think we (the left) should make a really, really big stink about declassifying EVERYTHING, if for no other reason than to keep Condi more honest when she goes under oath.

2004-03-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

"I am troubled that someone would sell a book, trading on their service as a government insider with access to our nation's most valuable intelligence, in order to profit from the suffering that this nation endured on September 11, 2001."

-Sen. Bill Frist, on Richard Clarke

Some 170 bloggers, led by Atrios, are using the Amazon feedback to throw these words back in Frist's face--regarding his own book! Funny stuff!

Check it out...rate it yourself!

2004-03-29T13:57:00.000-05:00

BILL FRIST BLOWS DEAD BEARS.

Are there media whores besides myself who are taking great sadistic pleasure in watching Richard Clarke WAIL ON BUSH'S ASS LIKE MOTHERFUCKING BRUCE LEE?!

'Cause I'm LOVING this.

Here's the play-by-play:

Clarke comes out, says (all quotations are 100% accurate): "Dubya is the biggest goddam PANSY on terrorism I've EVER FUCKING SEEN."

Condi says, "he's lying, he's lying! That's simply not true! And no, I WON'T come testify about it. That's...um...not...um...necessary or something."

Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill ("What Have I Been Smoking") Frist comes out and says, "Richard Clarke is a liar. Why, I have documents that contradict everything he's saying! I can't SHOW them to you because they're 'classified,' but I HAVE them, goddammit."

Clarke responds, "So declassify, BI-OTCH!!! I declassified yo mama last night, MOTHAFUCKA!!!"

Or something like that. But that's where it stands so far...

Tune in next week for the stunning rest of the story. For your source in Fair, Balanced, and Totally Objective Journalism, this has been obietom.

2004-03-26T14:29:00.000-05:00

La la la...is anybody out there? This feels pretty sad and pathetic these days. Oh well...someday, we too might be as cool as Daily Kos is.

2004-03-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hey, I think I fit in this category... anyone from Modesto? what's up Tom?

2004-03-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome! I know that liberal safe spaces are a dime a dozen online, which I think is GREAT. I simply wanted to add my own, with a specific focus on how to deal when you live in the midst of a bunch of conservatives. Ah, those crazy high school memories...