Following the Adminsitrations logic in placing a convicted felon in charge of snooping into every email, credit card transaction, book and movie rentals, that every american makes, The Administration has put Henry Kissinger in charge of the 9/11 investigation.

I mean after all, when you think about who we need to uncover the truth, you naturally look to the Nixon Adminsitration.

Amazing. Just amazing.

funny if it wasn't so true.

Hypocrite of the Millenium.

Back in 1997, Bill Clinton wanted tighter security encryption laws to help prevent terrorist activities. The kind that was passewd in the patriot act AFTER 9/11 and that Ashcroft is chomping at the bit to use. Well here was Ashcroft back when it was CLinton who asked for the tougher encryption laws. THis was as a result from evidence that the first WTC bombers used encrypted laptops. Here is what Ashcroft had to say when it was Clinton trying to fight terrorism with encryption laws:

The Clinton administration would like the Federal government to have the capability to read any international or domestic computer communications. The FBI wants access to decode, digest, and discuss financial transactions, personal e-mail, and proprietary information sent abroad -- all in the name of national security. To accomplish this, President Clinton would like government agencies to have the keys for decoding all exported U.S. software and Internet communications.
[snip]
The administration's interest in all e-mail is a wholly unhealthy precedent, especially given this administration's track record on FBI files and IRS snooping. Every medium by which people communicate can be subject to exploitation by those with illegal intentions. Nevertheless, this is no reason to hand Big Brother the keys to unlock our e-mail diaries, open our ATM records, read our medical records, or translate our international communications.

Notice the nice little attack at Clinton vis a vis the FBI files? Real nice.

Hes such a little shit.

Saw Bowling for Columbine yesterday. I'm not a huge fan of Michael Moore. He plays a little too fast and loose with the facts for me, especially with his error ridden book, so I was a bit trepidatious about the film.
There are parts I liked about it. Instead of taking the age old "guns are bad" tact, he at least makes an attempt at getting at the underlying poblems in our country and gun violence. Comparing canada, which has at least as many guns as we do percentage wise, and there virtual nonexistant gun violence. Moore at leasts attempts to find out why.
But he just can't keep from ruining his credibility. He again commits blatant factual errors (a nice way of saying he lied) in the film. He repeats the "taliban recieved money from the U.S. lie" in the film. What makes this so egregious is that he did the same thing in his book, and was called out on it, and still he repeated it in the film. Other examples of distortions he commited in the film, are chronicled here.

Too bad, because he was attempting to make some interesting points.

You can find anything on the internet.

You know sometimes it just makes me want to scream. Safire hits it on the head. A felon who was convicted of conspiracy, defrauding the government, and destroying evidence is now in charge of a huge database that will monitor, as safire puts it:

Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine
subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web
site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade
you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and
every event you attend — all these transactions and communications
will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual,
centralized grand database."

To this computerized dossier on your private life from commercial
sources, add every piece of information that government has about
you — passport application, driver's license and bridge toll
records, judicial and divorce records, complaints from nosy
neighbors to the F.B.I., your lifetime paper trail plus the latest
hidden camera surveillance — and you have the supersnoop's dream:
a "Total Information Awareness" about every U.S. citizen.

This is the Bush legacy. I really am sick to my stomach. Shall we apply what Atrios calls the If only it were Clinton rule? Clinton appoints Marc Rich to keep a database on every single gun owner in this country gives purchases, vacations, bank accounts, movie rentals, etc...

This is why the Democratic party needs to be scrapped and start over. they are spineless jelly fish and are just as culpable in letting this horror go on.

My Senator.

After the Republicans snuck in last minute special interest giveaways to big business, Lieberman, whose government affairs committee first proposed the department over a year ago, and a major writer of the bill, was on the floor decrying the crass partisanship of the White house. He called the provisions a “shame and an embarrassment”.
Republicans then froze Lieberman out of the final bill writing process in retaliation. What did Joe do? He voted for it, and then was grinning ear to ear saying things like "This is a substantial accomplishment, an historic day in the age of insecurity we've entered,"

IF he was in prison, he’d be someone’s bitch in minutes. Apparently he’s pretty comfortable in the role.

Bush, Sept 23rd, regarding the Homeland Security bill:
"the Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington, and not interested in the security of the American people."

Washington Post, on the bill as it has just passed the senate:
Riding along on legislation to create a new federal Department of Homeland Security is a White House-backed provision that could head off dozens of potential lawsuits against Eli Lilly and Co. and other pharmaceutical giants.
[snip]
Richard Diamond, a spokesman for retiring House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.), said the provision was inserted because "it was something the White House wanted. It wasn't [Armey's] idea."
[snip]
GOP aides said the language originally offered by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), and now incorporated in the bill, gives Texas A&M the inside track in hosting the first university center on homeland security, to be established within one year. DeLay was elected Wednesday to serve as the House majority leader in the 108th Congress.

The President is a piece of shit.

Right wing rant watch. Weekly rantings of right wing loonies from teh yahoo online political groups.

On Wed, 13 Nov 2002 02:43:20 -0000 "kirkzimpfer"
writes:
>U.S. Evangelist Pat Roberston Says Muslims 'Worse than the Nazis'
>Hindustan Times ^ | Nov. 12, 2002 | Agence France Presse

At least someone is telling the truth.
President Bush Jr is still lying about them.

CWSIV

The Bond Project: On Her Majesties Secret Service.


After suffering through the interminable You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery has had it as Bond (sort of). He’s out and the producers need a new 007. Their choice is George Lazenby, a model who looks the part, but can’t act. This is important for one reason. The Film he stars in, On Her Majesties Secret Service, ranks as one of the best Bond films ever created. With Lazenby being one of the films weakest links.

Before watching this film, its best to forget everything you know about Bond. The film is a radical departure from the other films. It essentially follows two separate storylines. The first being Bonds assignment to capture(or, more appropriately, his order to NOT capture), once again, Blofeld (played by the smarmily vegaslike Telly Savales) and stop him from his latest plot to hold the world ransom (this time in a thankfully less ridiculuos fashion, no volcano hideouts here). The second is the romance between Bond and Tracy Draco, beautifal daughter of an international crime lord. This is a jarring juxtaposition and some die hard bond fans might not like it, but I did for the simple reason that it pays off in the end.
The film jettisons everything that was going wrong with the Bond franchise. No reliance on cheesy gadgets, no cartoonish super hideouts with huge lasers designed to annihilate London. Its more gritty, and extremely faithful to the Fleming novel, and its got a great climax, with some truly impressive action set pieces.
But alas there is Lazenby. The man can’t act. And the film is so overly concerned with him being accepted in the role that they design scenes to try and ingratiate him in the audience. He breaks the fourth wall in the opening scene, which doesn’t work, and there is a cutesy scene showing Bond emptying out his desk after he resigns, packing away all the memorabilia from previous Bond films. This just calls to attention that Connery has indeed left the building. Also the ruffly 60’s suit he wears in the beginning of the film does nothing to inspire confidence. And since the film is such a departure, stylistically as well as plotwise, from other Bond films, it makes it harder to accept him as Bond.
That’s not to say that the film doesn’t suffer in other areas. It does. It suffers from a stop and go pacing from scene to scene. With some scenes like the “montage” of the lovers horseback riding and getting to know each other looking like something out of Love Story, followed immediately by more Bond like track the enemy down, gives you whiplash with the sudden change in tone. To give them credit, both storylines do Dovetail nicely at the climax. Other scenes seem to go on to long (a scene of Bond breaking into an office safe goes on forever) and in a film that clocks in at over 2 hours, this is a bad thing.
Another weak part for me is an extended sequence where Bond is undercover, and the entire time Lazenby’s voice is dubbed over.It’s quite noticable and hard to ignore, and utterly unnecessary.
It is still however one of the strongest films in the franchises history. Even Blofelds ultimate goal is an ingenious twist. He wants immunity for his past crimes. The scenery is breathtaking. Blofelds lair is not only beautiful but believable. Not an evil underground liar, but a mountaintop hideaway disguised as a research facility. The action scenes still hold up to this day, with some breathtakingly beautiful photography. And the ending. The marriage of James Bond and her murder have driven the character for years. And Lazenby nails the moment perfectly.

One of the best Bond films ever made, and certainly the best one for years and years to come.

Which is news? And which is not?

The highest ranking woman and Italian American in the History of the Congress was just elected Minority Leader.

The fact that the new Majority leader believes Creationism should be taught in schools, The EPA should be dismantled, shoved another congressman on the floor of the house while calling him a "chickenshit", A man who when asked what federal regulations he would want to keep, responded "None that I can think of." (Wall Street Journal, 3/3/95), a man who said that Christianity “offers the only viable, reasonable, definitive answer to the questions of life”. A man who declared that parents should not send their kids to Texas A&M (A State University) because they didn't teach creatonism, and oh by the way Delay was expelled from the school when he was younger because of drinking.

Just bought the boxed set lord of The Rings Special Edition and all I can say is wow. It’s the most amazing DVD I’ve ever seen. Every aspect is done perfectly.

I won’t rehash a review of the film since its pretty well known that it was one of the best films of 2001, (if not of all time, if you ask me)> if you want to read a review that echoes my own opinion go here.

No, what makes this special is more. First and foremost this is a new extended cut with over 30 minutes of additional scenes. But its more than just that. Looking at the web ads with there “now with 30 minutes more footage” makes it sound so gimmicky. Whopee they took a few cut scenes that were never there for a reason and put them back in an already 3 hour movie.

But its better than you think. The additions are perfect. Its not just random scenes plunked into a film and a “special edition” label slapped on it (see E.T.). The additions are perfect. A reworking of the opening scenes in Hobbiton which adds even more charm, little moments throughout that flesh out the characters. A shot that stays on someone’s face a few seconds more. Its just amazing what a difference it makes.

And the extras. Sheesh. I spent 5 hours watching straight documentaries on every aspect of the film. At about hour 4 I realized what a nerd I was. But they are great. Not the usual filler PR puff pieces.

Even the Commentaries rise above the usual. So amny times commentary tracks talk down to the audience. But these are intelligent and well done. Peter Jackson talks intelligently and at length about the choices he made in writing editing, etc. Its not just “oh this scene was fun to do!” type junk.

Buy it. Its worth it.

Well the Republicans gained a few seats in the senate and you'd think the world had a siesmic shift towards everything and anything conservative. The spin coming from the right is coming fast and furious.

Dinesh D'Souza:
Right now President Bush and the Republicans are riding high. But just wait until 2004, when the party of fighting terrorism, promoting economic growth, and fostering traditional moral values, meets its match in a party that stands for anti-Americanism, economic plunder, and moral degeneracy.

Andy Sullivan:
This was a vote for Bush, for prosecuting the war on terror, for the tax cut.
No , it was a vote for a particular candidate in a particlaur state. To say that people who thoought Carnahan was underqualified and voted for her opponent are magically for a 4 trillion tax cut for the rich is the kind of dissembling Sully does best (entire blogs are in existance to refute his constant stream of garbage, I kid you not)

My best is when Peggy Noonan, in full self important gloat mode (the best is watching her on TV, where he overinfglated sense of self really comes through. the pursed lips, the earnest listening, the way she thinks that everything she ever says is the most intelligent and witty comment she has ever seen. I imagine her going from one pompous coctail party to another, drinking endless amounts of bad wine and smelly cheese, holding court about how Reagan once literally shit gold in front of her, to the delightful oohs and aahs of the Ollies and Newts in the crowd, and talking about how "out of touch" everyone else is):
When Ronald Reagan became president, he set about trying to right the welfare state's worst wrongs. He lowered taxes; he tried to cut spending. He launched the great economic prosperity of the past 20 years.

As far as I can tell, that was not a satircal remark. She truly believes it. Its kinda creepy isn't it? The gloating goes on and on.

Personally, I am loving it. Keep it up guys. The more hateful divisive Coulterlike rhetoric, and overly confident assuredness in your moral supremecy is music to my ears. Remember what happned to Clinton in 94? hell, remember what happened to Ike?

Dems picked up governerships in states Bush needs in 2004. Bush is responsible, fair or not, for everything that happens in the next 2 years. He can no longer question the patriotism of the Senate the way he did before. He cannot villify and scapegoat the Democrats for his mistakes.


Yes Bush is going to f*ck everything up. He will wreck the environment, whore out to big business, and make the economy worse. And he will have noone to blame but himself. There are only 2 things I worry about. The two things that if Bush gets done where the damage will be long and far reaching. His activist conservative judicial picks and making the monstrosity of the tax cut permanent.

The Dems need to start getting a backbone and not be afraid to filibuster. What do they have to lose?

As to the tax cut it will take 60 votes to make it permanent so I'm not too worried. Some of the Dems who voted for it in the first place were not big fans in the first place. Which reminds me. Does everyone remember when Bush MAIN and ESSENTIAL selling point of the tax cut was that we could afford it? Based on the 5 trillion surplus ,a 1.35 trillion tax cut, social security, etc., would all add up and we would be fine. He repeated it ad nauseum during the campaign and its passage. Did we all forget?
He has in fact has been increasing spending all over the place (he has presented the largest budget ever in the history of this country, signed the farm bill, homeland security, etc...) , and now he wants another 2 trillion in tax cuts? cuts that will go mostly to the wealthiest 1% (read: Republican donors)

How does he get away with this? How can he abandon everything he stood for in the campaign and not get called on it? The "liberal" media sickens me. Clinton get s a BJ and hes the devil, but this is OK?

But thats another issue. There is a coming democratic majority. I'm not worried.

I haven't been posting lately for a good reason. I good friend of mine died last week. His name was Kevin Martin and I will really miss him, he was one of the funniest, kindest, big hearted person I ever knew. And he really knew how to bust my balls.
if anyone can read this and can spare it, donate to the Keane Foundation in his name. Even a dollar would help.