Bush's religious zealotry

I just need to point something out to my small core of faithful readers. Once again I read where Bush is saying he looks to God for answers. It bothers me on many levels because the Constitution, last I checked, clearly mandates the separation of Church and State. This means, among many things, you can't teach religion, you can't bring it with you to public office. You may certainly believe in whatever God you wish. You may not, however, use it to help you make the decisions. An elected official is to make decision on what is good for the country -- not what some mysterious voice from heaven tells him/her.

Bush is the worst kind of zealot: he's a fascist, dangerous person. He would, given the chance, turn our nation into a theocracy. So would Mitt Romney -- he said as much today when he said Nativity scenes and menorahs should be allowed into places they are currently not permitted.

If you wonder what's wrong with a theocracy, allow me to list some countries that cannot separate their states from their churches: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican are all virtual theocracies. Until recently so were Iraq and Afghanistan -- and we all know how well that's worked out.

Somehow, I'm not seeing the slow drift towards a religious state as a good thing.

Bush and the Deficit

The US is nearing its credit limit according to Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary. Yes, not only have the past seven years turned us from a budget surplus to being in the hole, that hole is now $8.9 trillion dollars. Trillion. With a "T" to be exact. Or in numbers that's $8,965,000,000,000 -- which is what it will be on 10-1 when the US government will exceed its credit limit. I am not making that up. Yep, we're about to overdraw our checking account. The Senate has approved raising the limit to $9.82 trillion as a temporary fix, the fifth such increase in the past 6 years. The US has never missed a debt payment, and has always upheld "the full faith and credit" motto making our currency stronger.

Everyone wants to know why the dollar is currently hovering at record lows against most major currencies. This is a big part of the answer. Not only has Bush sold our integrity, our respect, he's sold our souls to the highest (or perhaps it's lowest) bidder.

Sleep easy. If you were to pay this off at $1 million per day and there was no interest, it would take you 26 years to pay it off. And that assumes the budget is miraculously balanced. To put it in different terms, if every living person from newborns to those about die, who was a US citizen were to pay $30 per day, it would take a year to pay it off. Or if everyone paid $11,000 we could do it right now. I'll ask Bill Gates for his share -- you go ask the new baby next door and the homeless guy down the street.

For shame, shame, shame.

Fuck Bush Says a Student Newspaper

The headline and editorial ran thusly: "Taser this FUCK BUSH" I will withold comment on the lack of proper punctuation in said headline.

That was the entirety of a four-word column in the student-run Rocky Mountain Collegian. I think that's great. But in response to the headline, it's way too juvenile for a professional newspaper which a college paper puports to be. Still I admire their spirit, if not the lack of a carefully placed asterisk or two.

A number of newswires have picked it up from Raw Story who are running it unedited to Fox News and USA Today who are commenting on it with an expletive deleted tag. Most coverage is local and even those who sympathize with the sentiment are not giving the headline good marks.

The editor will likely lose his job, and the staff are facing pay cuts to compensate for lost advertising revenue. I was just amused that it's come this far. I agree with the sentiment. Totally. I just don't think it should have run without an asterisk in a newspaper.

Iriomote Cats, English Teachers, Yellow Submarine, and Bush Declares Martial Law

Today we have another random group of eclectic posts.

1. Way back in December 2006, I wrote about the Baiji Dolphin become extinct. Truly a sad thing, indeed. Well it's about to happen again to another species. Now, Japan’s Iriomote Cat is Headed for Annihilation
according to the latest news. I am far more saddened about this because I love kitties of all kinds. This has been reported in National Geographic. It's a beautiful cat, too as you can see.

2. I am trying to locate Karen Goff; she was my eighth or ninth grade English teacher from McMillian Junior High School in Miami, Florida. It's an off chance, but she was one of the best teachers I ever had -- and in a subject I am rather fond of. I want to thank her. If anyone knows where she is, that would be great. The school was of no help whatsoever nor was the local school boards.

3. In other disturbing news: I am not a conspiracy theorist, and I often ridicule those who are. Let's be honest, most of them are utter and complete crackpots. However there's a new one making the rounds that even my regular "upstanding citizen" type friends are subscribing to. And, I think I do too. As you know Dubya's term is coming to an end -- and he's not happy, nor does he understand why he's the least popular president ever. There are more and more rumblings being made about Iran from inside the administration, but nowhere else. What happens when he uses some random event -- you know the odds are in favour of an event -- to declare martial law and take over and remain in power? Will anyone be able to stop him? Will the military say no? It's looking more and more real to me every day. Him and his cronies are looking for a way to stay -- just like the Kremlin in its heyday. It scares me.

4. Next Wednesday, I am still predicting a Yellow Submarine iPod pre-loaded with the Beatles oeuvre. It will look similar to the current iPhone without the actual phone functionality. Further, regardless of what comes next, I bet you get a Bluetooth iPod so people have no more wires. You'll also get some form of the iPhone touchscreen. Apple has ordered way more screens than it needs for phones. There's really no other conclusion to be had.

Bush is a Liar and hypocrite. Proof.

When you say one thing and then say another statement which contradicts your first one, that makes you a liar. Bush is a liar. He's a rat bastard too, but that's my personal opinion.

ACTION ONE:
If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of. -- George W. Bush, Feb 10, 2004

I don't know about you, but that's pretty clear and simple. No room for any interpretation.


ACTION TWO:
Yesterday, George Bush commuted the sentence of Scooter Libby. He disregarded the wishes of the public and the judicial system and the jury and did what he wanted. Apparently, the leak wasn't so important. He's a hypocrite.

ACTION THREE:
WASHINGTON (AP)- President George W. Bush on Tuesday refused to rule out an eventual pardon for former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. "As to the future, I rule nothing in and nothing out," the president said a day after commuting Libby's 2 1/2 year prison term in the CIA leak case. Bush said he had weighed his decision carefully to erase prison time for Libby, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney. "I made a judgment, a considered judgment," the president said. "I stand by it." At the same time, he left the door open for the possibility of a pardon later.

He's a liar and hypocrite. Flat out, unequivocally, and without any doubt. If you needed proof here it is IN HIS OWN WORDS. Apparently justice is not for his friends, but only other people. I just cannot begin to tell you how upsetting this is. I personally feel that Libby should have been tried for Treason along with Bush who clearly knew what was going. Treason still carries the federal death penalty. Real justice would see Bush get tried for Treason against the United States of American and for single-handedly subverting our justice system (and don't forget Mr. Gonzales dismissal of the attorneys either).

I say, let's try him for High Treason (and the death penalty as prescribed upon conviction) as an example to those who would use the office of president to put their personal goals and desires ahead of those of our country. The good of the nation is what the president is supposed to serve and he is losing his way more and more every day.

The Law of the Land (18 U.S.C. § 2381): "whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

By definition releasing that information gave aid to the enemy, and by Bush's own words we are at war with terrorists. We are at ware, aid was given to the enemy. All requirements for High Treason have been met. The penalty is death. I say, let's do it.

Impeachment just isn't good enough. Kill the bastard.

Free Blow Job From A Really Hot Chick

No, this blog hasn't been hijacked by pornographers though the title might certainly give you that impression.

Tania Derveaux, the rather buxom and attractive NEE party senate candidate in Belgium, is offering to give away blow jobs: 40,000 of them, to be exact, or 80 per day for 500 days -- an impossible task even for a nymphomaniac. Ms. Derveaux started this as a joke in response to an opposing party's claims of offering "new job opportunities in ridiculous amounts." Tania posed naked in a parody campaign, promising Belgian voters 40,000 jobs, all of which can be seen at the aforementioned link. The NEE is a legitimate party and she is a legitimate candidate and you can read all about the NEE at their website, however it's written in Flemish. The election takes place June 2007.

I'm pretty sure the offer's not serious -- though Wikipedia and many other outlets seem to think it is -- because at 80 per day Ms. Derveaux would end up with a horrendous case of lock-jaw, thus impairing her fellatio skills. She also offers virtual blow-jobs in Second Life (it's an on-line game if you don't know). I wish our political battles here involved this much humour.

It's interesting that this is attracting such interest around the world when George Bush has been fucking the entire country for years and it hasn't got this sort of press. If your ass is sore, it's probably Bush's fault.

For the record, I have not signed up for Ms. Derveaux's generous offer.

Another Reason Why Bush Scares Me

The headline is only a bit misleading. He's always scared me because he has neither a conscience or a soul. However, his latest gambit, surveillance of all Americans without due process required by law is just the final straw in a mountain of straws.

From the AP story you've all read "President Bush has acknowledged authorizing the super-secret NSA to eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails of people within U.S. borders without the approval of a court, as required by existing surveillance and wiretapping laws."

Yes, apparently he feels he is above the law. All us anti-Republicans (which includes all other parties and many people around the planet -- possibly even French people) always knew he felt that way, but the fact he has acknowledged this has even appalled the Republicans. His own party realizes this is a political bombshell that will blow up. I cannot believe a government that tried to impeach Bill Clinton over oral sex -- which had nothing to do with the governance of the country, hasn't impeached Bush over this offensive attack on our personal liberties and freedoms.

Further, the EFF "sued AT&T Inc. on Tuesday for its alleged role in helping the National Security Agency spy on the phone calls and other communications of U.S. citizens without warrants. The EFF claims the San Antonio-based telecommunications company not only provided direct access to its network that carries voice and data but also to its massive databases of stored telephone and Internet records that are updated constantly."

There are so many terrifying things in that last quote I don't even know where to start. The italicized and bolded part above trouble me the most. If they don't trouble you, that's a telling thing. How would you like it if I kept those records? You wouldn't of course. Why are you comfortable that AT&T, a private company, does? Do you trust these large corporations to have your best interest at hand? I hope note. There is only one thing they care about: profit.

Bush, Bullshit, Grammar, Ads, Used Computers, Sina, and Gorillaz

First, we have Matt Deatherage's blog post about Bush's service record. Originally CBS was accused of forging the documents. Only, well, they weren't forged. I don't want to steal Matt's blogging efforts, so go here to read it. I am never above a shot at Bush either so here's a quick (old) joke before I go on:

GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DESTROYED BY FLOOD
Crawford, Texas (AP) -- A tragic flood this morning destroyed the personal library of President George W. Bush. The flood began in the presidential bathroom where the books were kept. Both books have been lost. A presidential spokesman said the president was devastated, as he had almost finished coloring the second one. The White House tried to call FEMA but there was no answer. (from RHF 12-12-05 Henry Farkas)

Now, on to my next topic. I subscribe to a great weekly e-newsletter called This Is True, and you should too. Randy who runs it is a good guy. He doesn't sell your information or even rent it out. Those of you who may remember and/or have been graced with those cool "Get Out Of Hell" cards I gave out; well I got 'em from Randy. So why do I mention This Is True? Because of this article, one of many in this week's mailing:

TYPE OH: Moon God Drinking Products Co., a skin care company in China, has offered a bounty of 1,000 yuan (US$120) for every typographical or literary error found in a day's editions of four Chinese publications in an attempt to embarrass journalists into better writing. Hao Mingjian, who came up with the idea for the bounty, said that "China's press has lost its polish in the past decade or two," which "reflects a chaotic cultural environment and shows people lack a sense of responsibility." (Reuters) ... Nice try, but journalists can't be embarrassed.

I hate bad grammar, and this really amused the hell out of me. I used to write our local paper about their occasional atrocities, but once they actually argued with me. The Miami Herald, aka the Daily Fishwrapper, isn't populated by the sharpest tools in the shed. It was, after all a headline with a terrible error with an apostrophe. Instead of apologizing, ignoring me, or otherwise moving on, I got a typed(!) letter from the editor in question arguing with me. Yes, it's true. "The Shark's Were Out" indeed. Not. After five years, this made the event pop back in my head.

And, a brief word about Google's AdSense. Yeah, I've put ads up on my blog. This is recent and has been here for a few weeks -- I doubt you've noticed, and judging by the click-throughs nobody else has either. You're not supposed to draw anyone's attention to them either (nor encourage people to click on them). But I want you to look at them for a minute. I find it fascinating, because sometimes some really weird ads come up. I understand why it was running roofing ads (my Wilma post) and sponsorship ads (my Panthers tirade) and even charity ads (my Katrina/Wilma posts), but sometimes I get some really messed-up ads. I think you'll find them amusing sometimes.

Besides posting Google's AdSense ads in the hopes of defraying some of this site's expenses, I have also posted a link where you can just donate right to my webhosting bill. Donations go right to my webhosting account and not to me so no worries about me absconding with whatever pennies you may throw my way. Also, if you sign up for hosting a Dreamhost and give my address out, I will get a small credit towards my bill (or if you e-mail me, I can request the credit.) There were other far more lucrative options available to me for ads, but I didn't want to be intrusive, and I thought this was the best way. Help the sites and blog continue in any way you feel fit.

Speaking of ads, the banner at the bottom is not an ad, but a link to a site I rather enjoy. Yes, I actually own a rap album now. And I really like it. So there. Deal. You might want to go there and listen to some of the songs. Gorillaz' Demon Days is a truly rocking album. I bet nobody I know ever pegged me to deliberately buy a rap album. I'm thinking of buying their first album now. Scary, eh?

Oh, and someone I haven't spoken to since 1984 sent me a holiday card today. I guess he Googled me. I used to work with him at the Used Computer Store when I was attending Berkeley. I can't believe they still have the same logo, but they do. Anyway, his name's Sina Balour and this is a little shout out because he was cool then. I bet he's still cool now. Like I'm an authority on cool. Hah. As if.