Song of the Day (Counting Crows, 'Holiday in Spain')

25 Most Corrupt Officials of the Bush Administration

Here are 15 of the 25 listed at the citizensforethics.org

• Claude Allen White House
  Exhibits
• 
  
  
• Lurita Doan General Services Administration
  Exhibits

• Darleen Druyun U.S. Air Force
  Exhibits

• Kyle "Dusty" Foggo Central Intelligence Agency
  Exhibits

• John Korsmo Federal Housing Finance Board
  Exhibits

• Janet Rehnquist U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  Exhibits

• Kenneth TomlinsonCorporation for Public Broadcasting
  Exhibits
• 
  

• Eric AndellU.S. Department of Education
  Exhibits

• Lester CrawfordFood and Drug Administration
  Exhibits

• Brian DoyleU.S. Department of Homeland Security
  Exhibits

• Frank FigueroaU.S. Department of Homeland Security
  Exhibits

• J. Steven GrilesU.S. Department of the Interior
  Exhibits

• Donald KeyserU.S. Department of State
  Exhibits

• David SafavianWhite House and General Services Administration
  Exhibits

• Thomas ScullyU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  Exhibits

Obama Enters Presidential Race

From the NYT:

"Senator Barack Obama of Illinois stood on the steps of the Old State Capitol in this city of Abraham Lincoln on Saturday and, in a grandly choreographed announcement of his plan to seek the presidency, offered himself as the face of a new generation that would bring change to a government hobbled by cynicism, petty corruption and “a smallness of our politics.”

Rep. Weiner: The "Republic Party"

(02/08/07)As previously noted, the factually and intellectually challenged "republic party" has a history of mispronouncing The Democratic Party as the "Democrat Party". Of course, we're talking about a "republic party" that supports intelligent design, attacking a country that didn't attack your own, and the countless other issues that proves the "republic party" is a cult of brain dead sheeple.

Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) repeatedly used the term "republic party" on the house floor. Kos and Hullabaloo noted Rep. Weiner's brilliant oration.

(02/10/07)Updated. Here is the video. Weiner is simply brilliant.

Song of the Day (Evaline, 'Postpartum Modesty')

I saw this band open up for Placebo in Phoenix last fall. They were amazing and LOUD. I was hooked immediately.

postpartum modesty

O'Reilly is Replaced with John Walsh

Victory is Mine!!!!!

From the NCMEC:

In response to the numerous e-mails and inquiries we have received, we are providing the following update regarding the Collier County, Florida branch fundraising dinner scheduled for March 9, 2007 in Naples, Florida. Bill O’Reilly, host of The O’Reilly Factor, will not be a speaker at the dinner. The dinner will be held as scheduled. John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted, will be the keynote speaker.

We would like to thank everyone for their comments and e-mails.

Thank you to everyone that spread the word and contacted this organization to voice your concern about having this vile wing-nut as a keynote speaker. Activism works....this is proof!!!

H/t to my partner in crime, Janie (aka Jacondi).

Final Footage of Anna Nicole Smith

It didn't take long for the vultures of society to exploit, in video form, Anna Nicole Smith's death. Apparently the video was shopped around, and the paparazzi outlet Splash News & Picture Agency reported that rights to the graphic video sold for more than $500,000. The unremarkable video can be viewed below.

Song of the Day (Condi Raps)

Breaking News: Anna Nicole Smith Has Died

Anna Nicole Smith was found unresponsive after collapsing at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in Hollywood, FL. Smith passed away at approximately 3pm, and the cause has yet to be determined.

Stupid People Say Stupid Things

How can a doctor "determine that a person actually did incur that sexual assault. Are they going to take the word of that individual? You could see individuals coming in that just wanted to make sure that last night's stand didn't result in a pregnancy and basically say that they had been a sexual assault" to get the morning after pill. - Republican (CO) state Sen. David Schultheis.

Maybe because women can go to their local CVS or Target and purchase the medication for far cheaper than they would by getting it through the hospital?

And what, exactly, does this say about Schultheis' opinion women? That they'll put on a show to get medication they could pick up a block from their house? Another example of just how much reich-wingers hate America.

Rep Ackerman: Pentagon More Afraid of Gay People Than Terrorists

Rep. Gary Ackerman took on Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice yesterday during her testimony while discussing the State Department’s 2008 budget.

During the discussion, Rice claimed the State Department "repeatedly emphasized the importance of recruiting qualified language experts to work in the agency.” Ackerman in response brought up the 322+ language specialists with "'some skills in an important foreign language such as Arabic, Farsi and Korean' had been discharged from the military since the ban’s inception in 1993."

Ackerman then said the Pentagon “'seems more afraid of gay people than they are [of] terrorists,' and that if the terrorists were smart, 'they’d get a platoon of lesbians to chase us out of Baghdad.'”

Ackerman is one of the first Congressmen to call the Administration and the Pentagon out on this appalling decision-making, and did so with great wit. We need more Congressmen like Ackerman! (H/T to ThinkProgress - who also has the video of the exchance)

John Edwards: Model Campaigner

It was announced recently that 2008 Presidential candidate John Edwards had hired two bloggers to conduct blogger outreach for his campaign. The bloggers, Melissa McEwan and Amanda Marcotte, both have a history of "take no prisoners" blogging, expressing their opinions and beliefs with what some consider to be harsh rhetoric (I personally find them both honest and refreshing).

Yesterday, Catholic League president Bill Donohue attacked the Edwards campaign and the women for posts they had written on their personal blogs, critisizing Catholicism for some of their practices (including the pedophelia scandal, and the Church's stance on birth control). Donohue claimed the girls were "anti-Catholic" and demanded Edwards fire them both.

Donohue himself is no saint, and has a history of foaming at the mouth:

"He has referred to the 'gay death style,' remarked, 'God forbid we'd run out of little gay kids,' claimed that Senator John Kerry 'never found an abortion he couldn't justify,' and claimed that 'Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular ... Hollywood likes anal sex.'"

Donohue also associates with unseemly characters that have said things McEwan and Marcotte couldn't even dream of. The Board of Directors of the Catholic League include:

Dinesh D'Souza (Who blames liberals for 9/11)
Alan Keyes (Hates his own child for being gay)
Kate O'Beirne (Who doesn't think women should have a life outside the home)

Edwards, at first, seemed to consider firing the bloggers and buckling to the right-wing hate machine, but in the end, handled the matter perfectly by issuing the following statement:

"The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwen's posts personally offended me. It's not how I talk to people, and it's not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor or anything else."

Both women will be retained and continue working on the campaign, and Edwards has his first win against the right-wing noise machine.

Campaign to Stop O'Reilly

As noted yesterday, Bill O'Reilly, wing-nut extradionaire, blamed Shawn Hornbeck, a kidnap victim, for not escaping from his pedophile captor because he was having "fun and games".

O'Reilly: "I'm not buying this…If you have a strong bond with your family…even if the guy threatens you–this and that. You're riding your bike around, you got friends. The kid didn't go to school. There's all kinds of stuff. If you can get away, you get away Alright, if you're eleven." Video link.

So, now there is a grassroots movement aimed to stop O'Reilly from being the Keynote speaker at a Conference for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Below is the contact information for this organization. Spread the word! Contact this organization by phone, mail, email, fax, etc. C&P the info and repost! Let's stop this blame-the-victim O'Reilly!

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Charles B. Wang International Children's Building
699 Prince Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3175
http://www.missingkids.com

Phone: 703-274-3900
Fax: 703-274-2200
24-hour Hotline: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678 )

Leaked video details friendly fire kill

A leaked cockpit video published Tuesday captures a dramatic exchange between two American pilots whose voices choke up when they learn they have killed a British soldier in Iraq. "I'm going to be sick," one pilot says, later adding "we're in jail, dude."

Part 1


Part 2

Rank Our U.S. Senators

From September 10, 2006 to July 10, 2007 readers at the New Political Review get to vote for their favorite Senator. The Senators will be ranked on the basis of four criteria: Integrity, honor, dignity and character. It's free, no registration required, so go vote!

Poll: Bush Approval Rating Sinks to 32%

H/t to tpmcafe:

President Bush's approval rating has sank to a dismal 32%, his lowest rating since last May, a new Gallup poll finds. Bush's approval numbers have remained below 50% for two years in the Gallup poll, and the survey also finds that the President's approval rating of 46% on terrorism -- which is often described as his signature issue -- is lower than his disapproval number of 52%.

Lowe's Drops O'Reilly

I think I know why Bill-O is obsessed with NBC. NBC catches pedophiles, while O'Reilly defends pedophiles. Anyhow, I slightly digress. From Radaronline:

Home-improvement chain Lowe's has pulled its advertising from The O'Reilly Factor following comments host Bill O'Reilly made about Shawn Hornbeck, the 15-year-old Missouri boy who recently returned to his parents after four years in captivity.

On Jan. 15, during a segment with fellow FNC anchor Greta Van Susteren, O'Reilly insisted that Hornbeck failed to seize opportunities to escape his captor because "there was an element here that this kid liked about his circumstances." Over Van Susteren's protests, O'Reilly elaborated: "The situation here, for this kid, looks to me to be a lot more fun than what he had under his 'old' parents. He didn't have to go to school, he could run around and do whatever he wanted."

Astronaut Love Triangle

Who ever would have thought I'd get to say those words? Seems like this is the biggest story in the 24-hour news cycle today:

"A judge granted bail Tuesday to a NASA astronaut charged with pepper-spraying a romantic rival before attempting to kidnap her from a parking lot at the Orlando airport.

But the judge warned that Navy Capt. Lisa Marie Nowak is to have no contact with NASA engineer Colleen Shipman and must wear a GPS, or global positioning satellite device, to ensure she does not travel east of Orange County, where Shipman lives.

The charges against Nowak stem from an alleged love triangle in which Nowak and Shipman were competing for the affections of astronaut Bill Oefelein, police said."

It's news like this that does absolutely nothing beneficial for the feminist movement. Women have worked excruciatingly hard to be able to break barriers and enter into fields such as this. After this stunt, we'll hear conservatives whining about allowing women to become astronauts (or any other high paying, important job) because they'll fall in love with their co-workers and pull crap like this.

So, let me be the first to thank Lisa Nowak for single-handedly setting the feminist movement back about 20 years.

Giuliani Plans to Make 2008 Run

Bush's Butt-Boy, Giuliani, is filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission. By doing so, he is apparently eliminating the phrase "testing the waters" from earlier paperwork establishing his exploratory committee.

Viacom Complains About TPT

As I reported last week, Viacom Inc. has demanded that Google Inc.'s online video service YouTube pull down all of its video clips after failing to reach an agreement. Well, sure enough, Viacom lived up to their word and TPT received an email from YouTube about a "Copyright Infringement" complaint from Viacom. Click on the thumbnail to see the snapshot of the email.

Song of the Day (Da Bears, 'Super Bowl Shuffle')