Song of the Day (Joe Satriani, 'Rubina')

An amazing live version Satch's 'Rubina':

More Hard Hitting "News" From Drudge

It's evident that the right-wingers have been completely marginalized over the last few months. Their shrilling and desperation only grows by the day. Faux Noise and A.M. hate radio is losing their audience one market at a time and the credibility of the neocons has reached zero. So, it's no surprise that the leader of the right-wing Media, Eggman Drudge, qualifies his latest headline as "news" worthy (click on the thumbnail for full view):

IOWA IDOL: HILLARY'S NATIONAL ANTHEM CAUGHT ON OPEN MIC


Hey, Eggman, where are the sirens!!?!?!?!?!

Rove Subpoenaed to Testify in CIA Leak Case

From Newsweek:

Both Rove and Bartlett have already received trial subpoenas from Libby’s defense lawyers, according to lawyers close to the case who asked not to be identified talking about sensitive matters. While that is no guarantee they will be called, the odds increased this week after Libby’s lawyer, Ted Wells, laid out a defense resting on the idea that his client, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, had been made a “scapegoat” to protect Rove.

The Progressive Truth at the UFPJ Protest in Washington, DC

I will be attending the anti-war demonstration in Washington DC tomorrow, coordinated by United for Peace and Justice.

We will be meeting up between 3rd and 7th Streets on the Mall at 11, and the rally will proceed from 11 - 1 pm. The march will kick off at 1 pm (EST).

The list of speakers include Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda, Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich, Lynne Woosley, John Conyers, Medea Benjamin, and Bob Watada.

The weather is expected to be 48F and sunny, so for all those that can attend, please do!

I am expecting to get interviews, and hopefully a large photo gallery (and a non-main stream media estimation of those in attendance), so check back tomorrow night and Sunday for photos, stories and more!

For more information on the protest, please visit the website for United for Peace and Justice.

Song of the Day (Blue October, 'Hate Me')

Hate me today.
Hate me tomorrow.
Hate me for all the things i didn't do for you.
Hate me in ways, yeah ways hard to swallow.
Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you.

Global Poll Shows Disdain For Bush

From wsws.org:

"A BBC poll questioned more than 26,000 people in 25 countries (including the US) between November 3, 2006, and January 9, 2007. Across all 25 countries, one in two people now says the US is playing a mainly negative role in the world. Three quarters, or 73 percent, disapprove of how the US government has dealt with Iraq."

"World citizens disapprove of the way the US government has handled all six of the foreign policy areas explored by the poll. In addition to the overwhelming disapproval of US policy in Iraq, majorities across 25 countries also disapprove of the US handling of the Guantánamo detainees and other prisoners (67 percent), the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon (65 percent), global warming (56 percent) and US handling of the nuclear programs of both Iran (60 percent), and North Korea (54 percent)"

News Roundup

* Bush authorizes U.S. troops to counter Iranian agents in Iraq

* Ex-Argentine leader faces new charges: killing, torture and kidnappings of leftist dissidents

* Home Sales Fall

* Drudge breaks White House Embargo for SOTU speech

**** Mutated Body Within a Body: Man Has Twin Living Inside Him for nearly 4 decades!!! ****

White House Manipulates SOTU Web Transcript

Once again the White House revisionists have manipulated history. As noted by Media Matters for America, the prepared text of Bush's SOTU speech did feature the phrase, "Democratic majority," but instead Bush actually congratulated what he called the "Democrat majority". Now the White House website's "official transcript" of the SOTU speech has been changed from "Democratic" to "Democrat".

Here are snapshots (here and here) of the original transcript from State of the Union.com and the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access (U.S. Government Printing Office), respectively. Compare them to the now revised White House transcript, here (snapshot) and here (snapshot).

From Media Matters:

"The ungrammatical conversion of the noun "Democrat" to an adjective was the brainchild of Republican partisans, presumably an attempt to deny the opposing party the claim to being "democratic."

This is not the first time the White House has revised history in such an Orwellian fashion. See here, here, and here for more examples.

Wing-nuttery 101: Ex-Gay Video

Sadly, this video is for real and not some attempt at a bad joke.

From Pam's House Blend:

...well, there are no words to explain this "ex-gay" music video -- The Bible Says (God Hates a Fag), by Donnie Davies and Evening Service (hailing from south Houston). This is so campy it has to be a joke, but he plays it straight -- so to speak.

From Donnie Davies' bio:

I am in fact a Reformed Homosexual and I'm trying to let people know that there is an escape from being Gay. By letting people know that "God hates a Fag" I am doing Gods work, I'm preaching.

When I was in highschool I kept having feelings for the boys I was in school with. Often I would let these feelings take over. I got into lots of trouble when I was Gay.

Update:
As always, Jesus' General has a wonderful retort for the despicable Donnie Davies.

Update II (Jan 26th, 12:22 PM ET):
It appears the Google Video has removed the video as well (YouTube yanked it earlier this week).

BTW, anyone else think this is just a hoax? I don't think this is for real at all. I think this guy is coming off a bit too fruity with his pink shirt and his overtly and over-the-top anti-gay message. My prediction: This will be exposed as joke/fraud eventually.

Seriously, where did this guy come from? All of sudden he pops up out of the blue with this corny video and website. I just find this hard to believe that he is for real. I certainly do believe many right-wing nuts believe the message of this video, but not in this case.

Song of the Day (Alice in Chains, 'Nutshell')

State of the Union Word Frequency Summary

I decided to C&P dubyah's SOTU speech into a Word Frequency Counter to see what were the most common words. Here are some of the results:

301 the (most common word)
27 america
21 iraq
15 government
14 terrorists
14 insurance
12 americans
11 congress
11 children
10 war
10 enemy
10 american
10 al qaeda
10 iraqi
7 struggle
7 secure
7 reform
7 extremists
7 economy
6 tax
5 democratic
5 baghdad
4 terror
4 immigration
4 healthcare
4 diplomacy
4 democracy
4 attacks
4 afghanistan
3 taxes
3 lebanon
3 deduction
3 death
3 danger
2 hezbollah
2 freedom
2 evil
2 environment
1 zarqawi
1 israel
1 islamist
1 islam
1 insurgents
1 bin laden
1 arabia
1 arab
1 anthrax
1 airplanes
1 airplane
1 afghan

Certainly this SOTU had a much different feel and flavor than the previous 5 by G Dub. Besides the fact the Prez for the first time was not speaking to a GOP controlled House, the country is also decidedly anti-Bush, anti-GOP, and anti-war. His speech was not motivating or inspirational. But, most notably his SOTU did not contain the elevated fear factor when compared to previous SOTUs delivered by this Prez.

We witnessed last night a lame duck president waking up to the reality that he IS a lame duck and that his legacy is one of unrecoverable failure. This fact was evident in his lackluster message and delivery. His presidency is equivalent to a 48-3 blowout in the fourth quarter and the losing team just wants to get off the field. Unfortunately for America, this fourth quarter still has over 725 days of this living walking disaster.

State of the Union Drinking Game

From Drinkinggame.us

The general rules of this game are no different from any other drinking game. A drink is either a shot or a good gulp from a beer (or cider). Different events call for different numbers of drinks and all you do is watch the speech and play along. If all goes well, you'll be unconscious by the time they show the other party's response.

Here is part of the table that contains the drinking rules. Go to Drinkinggame.us for the rest of the rules.

EVENT	# of Drinks
Every time he says....
“The state of our union is strong…” (or some version of this)	1 +1 if he breaks down in tears
"the American people"	1
troops	small 1
surge	quick 1
Iraq	1
Baghdad	1
"sectarian violence"	1 Car Bomb recipe
Iran	1
terror (however it’s pronounced)	small 1
detainees	1, with your hands behind your back
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad	2 (+1 if he pronounces it correctly)
Saddam Hussein or Saddam	1
elections	1 if referring to another country's 2 if referring to the 2006 midterms

State of the Union: Catapult the Propaganda

I'm reposting this from last week. Just remember the following clip tonight while the President continues to lie and spread his propaganda to the Country.

News Roundup

* Hillary says Bill will be as asset in 2008

* Hastert backs Romney's '08 bid

* Newsweek: Has Bush soured the world on democracy?

* Cold Suds for Man's Best Friend?

* Israel's head of state, Katsav, charged with rape and abuse of power

Second Aircraft Carrier Heads to the Middle East

Just hours before the President is set to address the American people, Yahoo News (via Rawstory) is reporting the United States has sent a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf furthering fears the United States is set to strike Iran.

"The American aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and several accompanying ships are heading toward the Gulf to join an aircraft carrier group already in the region, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Stennis is expected to arrive in late February.

The Stennis's arrival in the Middle East will mark the first time since the U.S.-led Iraq invasion in 2003 that the United States has had two carrier battle groups in the region."

US diplomats used harsh language to defend the move.

"The Middle East isn't a region to be dominated by Iran. The Gulf isn't a body of water to be controlled by Iran. That's why we've seen the United States station two carrier battle groups in the region," said Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs.

Will President Bush address this move during tonight's speech? Will this be another repeat of the 2003 State of the Union?

Gay Marriage Ban Dropped

Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), the two leading advocates of amending the US Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, "say they have no plans to make a third try to advance the proposal." "If we thought there was a decent chance to bring it to the floor for debate, I would, but with the new Congress, I’m not sure we will ever have that opportunity," Allard says.

Perhaps these two wing-nuts will now focus instead on other crucial and important legislation like deporting them darned gay, flag burning, illegal Mexicans who show their nipples on T.V.

Troops Uncover Terror Plot Plan Aimed at the U.S.

From ABC News:

Mimicking the hijackers who executed the Sept. 11 attacks, insurgents reportedly tied to al Qaeda in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil.

Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently testified that documents captured by coalition forces during a raid of a safe house believed to house Iraqi members of al Qaeda six months ago "revealed [AQI] was planning terrorist operations in the U.S."

Song of the Day (John Mayer, 'Your Body is a Wonderland')

This SOTD is for my sick friend, Laura, who is out of town on business and just texted me that she is terribly ill. Get well soon....here's one of your favorites by John Mayer. :)

Poll: Bush at 33%, Reaches Nixon-like Low

Bush will face the nation this week more unpopular than any president on the eve of a State of the Union address since Nixon in 1974. Nixon was beleaguered by the Watergate scandal. Three decades late, Bush deals with the war in Iraq and an unpopular troop surge.

Bush's job rating matches the worst of his presidency: Thirty-three percent of Americans approve of his work in office while 65 percent disapprove, 2-1 negative, matching his career low last May.

You're doing a heckva job, Georgie

Cheney to Commit Perjury in Libby Case?

In 1931, the infamous gangster Al Capone, who ruled much of Chicago for decades was finally brought down at the hands of Treasury Agent, Eliot Ness. Despite Ness' intense investigation, the US government was unable to prove Capone had a hand in many of the dealings for which he was sought after, including prostitution and breaking prohibition laws. In the end, Capone's empire was brought down on tax evasion charges and he went on to spend seven years in prison.

This tactic, prosecuting on lesser charges, is an oft used strategy to this day. Even when the "criminal" is a political figure.

During Friday night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann (1/19), Olbermann and White House Correspondent David Shuster discussed the ongoing Scooter Libby trial, and the current jury selection. During the conversation, Shuster noted:

"Well, the credibility of Vice President Cheney and Scooter Libby‘s going to be crucial, especially in the point of whether they were or were not preoccupied with undermining the Wilsons. And this came out when Scooter Libby‘s attorneys twice asked potential jurors how they would feel if Vice President Cheney‘s testimony was contradicted by somebody else who might testify in the case.

That was intriguing, whether it was a hypothetical or whether it was a foreshadowing of something to come, intriguing simply because we know that there is a witness from the CIA who‘s going to testify about briefing the vice president‘s office about the Wilsons."

To date, the role of Vice President Dick Cheney in the Plame Affair is unclear. Questioning of key witnesses during the investigation stalled, and subsequently led to the charge of perjury against the Vice President's aide, Scooter Libby. There is however, evidence that Cheney played an integral role in the outing of undercover CIA agent, Plame. But is there enough evidence for prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to go after Cheney, or does Shuster's remarks suggest Fitzgerald is looking to use the "Ness tactic?"

Shuster's report indicates that the Vice President may provide testimony to the jury that will be contradicted by others testifying in the case. Fitzgerald clearly made an issue of this before the jury during voir dire, which seems to hint Fitzgerald is anticipating testimony from the Vice President that can be proven false. Under those circumstances, the Vice President himself - who will be under oath, would have committed perjury.

While Fitzgerald seems unable to prosecute Cheney for his somewhat ambiguous and protected role in the Plame Affair, could Fitzgerald be looking to charge the Vice President with perjury, if in fact, his official explanation under oath can be proven false or inconsistent?

Jan. 22 Declared "Blue Monday"

War got you down? Upset that the Pats choked away the AFC championship game last night? Perhaps you have a case of the Mondays? Well, it could be all that plus more...at least for today, January 22.

A psychologist at Cardiff University has declared Jan. 22 "Blue Monday". Dr. Cliff Arnall derived a mathematical formula that shows how the confluence of post-Christmas fatigue, holiday bills, bad weather and failed resolutions can make people depressed.

The formula is: 1/8W+(D-d)3/8xTQMxNA.

The factors are W for weather, D for debt from Christmas bills, d for monthly salary, T for time since Christmas. Q is the failure to keep a resolution or quit a bad habit, M stands for motivation and NA is the need to take action.

Manning Doesn't Choke!

Peyton Manning, possibly one of the best Quarterbacks in NFL history, has a problem in the playoffs. Constantly rushed, he doesn't take his time and typically chokes during the "big games." He's often compared to former Miami QB Dan Marino, who not only never got his Superbowl, but only appeared in a Superbowl once (early) in his career.

But last night, Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to their first AFC Championship win in 20 years, after being down 21-3 to win 38-34 over the New Englad Patriots (who they were 0-2 against in the playoffs), the biggest come back in conference-title history.

Manning threw for 349 yards, 1 TD, and rushed for 1 TD. By far, it was his best performance in his personal playoff history.

Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, who will go on to face the Chicago Bears in Superbowl XLI.

Also, a huge congratulations to coaches Lovey Smith and Tony Dungy - the first African American coaches to coach in the Superbowl!