07 October 2011
28 January 2011
Meeting Personalities
- Academic
Primarily concerned about framework, definitions and process. - Confidently Uninformed
Presents opinion with the confidence that because they've uttered it, it then becomes absolute data-driven fact (e.g. Anthony Scalia and the Pope). - Impatient Pragmatist
Wants to cancel the meeting and get to work on the first draft, believes that iterative "doing" is far more productive than talking. - Demotivated Pessimist
Those who've given up and are willing to ride a sinking ship as long as possible. Make occasional contributions, but gives up easily due to historical lack of progress.
18 January 2011
Not all Rhetoric is Equal
Fear-mongering and hateful speech have been Republican hallmarks since the Regan era -- and perfected by none other than Karl Rove. Examples you say? Here you go:
And we can end with the brilliant commentary of the Motor City Madman..."I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for."
- Rush Limbaugh, Denver Post, 12-29-95
"Get rid of the guy. Impeach him, censure him, assassinate him."
- Rep. James Hansen (R-UT), talking about President Clinton
"We're going to keep building the party until we're hunting Democrats with dogs."
- Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), Mother Jones, 08-95
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building."
- Ann Coulter, New York Observer, 08-26-02
"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."
- Ann Coulter, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, 02-26-02
"Chelsea is a Clinton. She bears the taint; and though not prosecutable in law, in custom and nature the taint cannot be ignored. All the great despotisms of the past - I'm not arguing for despotism as a principle, but they sure knew how to deal with potential trouble - recognized that the families of objectionable citizens were a continuing threat. In Stalin's penal code it was a crime to be the wife or child of an 'enemy of the people.' The Nazis used the same principle, which they called Sippenhaft, 'clan liability.' In Imperial China, enemies of the state were punished 'to the ninth degree': that is, everyone in the offender's own generation would be killed and everyone related via four generations up, to the great-great-grandparents, and four generations down, to the great-great-grandchildren, would also be killed."
- John Derbyshire, National Review, 02-15-01
"Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity. The degree these two have diminished is in direct proportion to the corruption and fall of the nation. Every problem that has arisen (sic) can be directly traced back to our departure from God's Law and the disenfranchisement of White men."
- State Rep. Don Davis (R-NC), emailed to every member of the North Carolina House and Senate, reported by the Fayetteville Observer, 08-22-01
10 September 2010
God doesn't need your help
Extremist Christians in Florida want to burn Qur'ans - because God told them to do it. Extremist Muslims are outraged and promising death to America - because God shall not be insulted. The Pope is insulted that "secular courts" are meddling in Godly affairs by prosecuting rapist priests. Idiot Baptists quote God as "Hating Fags".
Can we all stop fighting over what we think our all-powerful invisible friend and the corresponding magic infallible book wants us to do? I don't care how many Qur'ans, Bibles, Torahs, Scientology, Harry Potter books, Mormon Bibles or Grimm's Fairy Tales books we burn - they're just books. They aren't people.
We shouldn't have to fear what true believers will do just because someone doesn't respect or believe in their faith. The faithful have chosen to believe, not based on fact or observable phenomenon. They've chosen - made a leap of faith - because that's how they want to live their lives. That's where it needs to end, with their lives. Stay out of mine.
If an all powerful God exists, and chooses to intercede in human affairs, then God does not need your help defending His / Her honor. And I don't care if God "talked" to you. He / She talked to me too. Said you were crazy and wrong.
02 September 2010
James Toney's Loss Hurts Boxing
What have we learned? What everyone already knew; a good boxer would beat an MMA fighter in a boxing match. An MMA fighter will beat a boxer in an MMA, BJJ, Wrestling, or Kickboxing match. But here's the rub, and why this loss hurt boxing:
An MMA fighter would destroy a boxer in a street fight.
The hype of the "bad ass boxer" is over. No longer is boxing's heavyweight champ the toughest dude in the room. That title clearly goes to the MMA fighters. The death of the boxer as the "toughest man" will hurt boxing far more than the corruption of Don King and the other idiot boxing promoters ever did.
27 August 2010
Taxes and the monster under your bed...
20 August 2010
Living Up to Our Principles Isn't Easy
When it comes to the mosque, he's taken a position that only some of us deserve to have the rights guaranteed by the constitution. He's not the only acquaintance to make this argument.
Our short dialog took place on Facebook (click image at left to read.) It became increasingly disturbing because of his attack on my faith as part of a discussion about constitutional rights.
If people like my friend can go off the deep end, and FOX can con 20% of population into believing that Obama is a Muslim (socialist, communist, fascist, non-citizen, blah, blah, blah) then we as a country are in a sorry state...
19 June 2010
Recent Petersen Pond Intrusion
To: The Fish of Petersen Pond
From: People for the Ethical Treatment of Pond Animals (PETPA)
RE: Recent Pond Invasion
Dear Fish of Petersen Pond,
We've recently learned of Diane Petersen's negligent intrusion into your tranquil underwater environment. While no fish was harmed, we understand that you feared for your lives and suffered quite a bit of emotional trauma. We've further learned that many of you are now suffering from Anthropophobia and are seeking professional counseling.
We at PETPA stand ready to assist you. Should you require legal counsel,short term medical assistance or even pond relocation services, count on PETPA to help. We've petitioned the management of Petersen Pond to install a safety rail around the perimeter to protect you, the residents of Petersen Pond, from further trauma.
Please contact your local PETPA representative if you have further questions.
PETPA Field Director,
Gretchen Goldfish
20 January 2010
14 May 2009
My next car will be an American car...
I'm pissed that the leadership of these great companies couldn't get their business in order. I'm pissed when I look at the badge engineering that what passed for innovation and engineering in the 70's and 80's.
Remember when we'd see the exact same car marketed as a Chevy, Olds, Pontiac, and Cadillac – with the only difference between the cars being different grills, taillights and "sporty" stickers?
Consider the late sixties, early seventies Chevy Nova. I loved this generation Nova, but did we really need the corresponding Buick Apollo, Oldsmobile Omega, and Pontiac Ventura versions of the same car? How about the 80's delivery of the "import fighting" X-body cars: Chevy Citation, Olds Omega, Pontiac Phoenix, and Buick Skylark? Some executive marketing weenie must have thought we were all idiots. The crappy trend continued in the 90's with the Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimarron, Oldsmobile Firenza, and/or the Pontiac Sunbird. The Cadillac Cimarron had to be one of the worst product decision in modern automotive history. Again the marketing weenies struck.
Please tell me the name of the marketing weenie at Pontiac that decided gluing plastic body cladding to their cars would make them "exciting". That guy must have moved to Chevy just in time to make the first generation of the Chevy Avalanche trucks as ugly as possible with the square wheel wells and the plastic "I watch too much science fiction" body cladding. (Thank God that Bob Lutz came in and killed all that plastic puke on the cars.)
You'd think GM would learn. But they don't, and they're still at it today. Who drives the Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac G5 or Saturn Ion? Why the hell did Pontiac need a freakin' G5? Why did Buick need an SUV? WTF?
GM's management has had 30 years to come up with a competitor to the Honda Civic and chose not to do it. Instead they delivered a parade of badge-engineered, over-marketed, under-designed cars every 5 years. At least GM was able to spend the R&D money creating all the glossy brochures and advertising the same car five different ways (those marketing weenies again).
This isn't the people building the cars, or designing the cars. It is short-sighted marketing weenie "how can we make some money NOW" thinking. It's newly-minted MBA "get rich quick and get out before the shit hits the fan" strategy. It's more "Be good to the shareholders and Wall Street and screw the workers and our customers" thinking. It's the kind of thinking that killed many an American business.
What if I was running GM right now? Sadly, I'd have to consolidate to three brands -- Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac:
- Chevy would pick up the few valuable Pontiac vehicles and consolidate all the light duty trucks and SUV's. Chevy would then compete for mainstream buyers against the Asian brands.
- GMC would exit the SUV business and focus exclusively on heavy duty and commercial trucks.
- Cadillac would be my premium line and would compete at the higher end of the market with the German brands.
I'm almost done. I've also had it with Fox News and their continual attack on labor and the unions. The unions build the cars as designed and approved by management. The unions didn't make the cars ugly. The unions didn't decide to try to sell the same car with 5 different grills glued to it. The unions didn't pay Rick Wagoner $14.5 million dollars in 2007. Did Rick do anything worth $14.5M in 2007? F.A. Henderson made $7.6 million in 2007. Bob Lutz made $7 million and I think he earned it just by killing the plastic crap at Pontiac. Finally a car guy!
I hope GM survives. I hope their management grows a soul, some brains, and learns not to underestimate their consumers.
Oh. I think my next car will be a Chevy Volt. I just hope it isn't co-marketed with a Cadillac Capacitor, Pontiac Proton, Buick Bolt, or a Saturn Shock.
Brad
31 March 2009
05 January 2009
Reid + Pelosi = Disaster
Dear Mr. Reid,
Unless you can show that Mr. Burris is somehow tainted, you must allow him to be seated. You do nothing but drag out an ugly scenario, and you do so at the national level. If Mr. Burris is otherwise qualified, then let him be seated.
You and Ms. Pelosi are both incredible failures. Neither has had the nerve to impeach a president we know lied to start a war, disgraced himself and our country by blaming his own torture policies on "bad apples", and continues his historic incompetence to this day.
I saw you quoted as saying "We think we're pretty clear on what we believe is the law and precedent in the U.S Senate. We're the ones who determine, Democrats and Republicans, determine who's going to sit in the Senate," Reid says."
With all due respect, B.S. It's the U.S. citizens who decide who sits in our senate, not you or your party. Put this debacle behind us. Close ranks around Mr. Burris as a fine candidate.
You and Ms. Pelosi need to get in line behind Obama and execute his mandate. We the people as a nation elected Obama to lead -- we didn't elect you and Ms. Pelosi to be co-leaders. Do a good job for Nevada and other than that, get out of the way.
Disgusted with how spineless, useless and brain dead you and Ms. Pelosi must be...
Brad
06 November 2008
New Grammar
05 November 2008
03 November 2008
28 October 2008
USA Wealth Distribution
This helps explain why the wealthiest 1% pay the bulk of the US taxes -- it's because they own the bulk of the US assets...
I do think this "socialism" thing has hit a nerve. McCain's not talking about killing graduated taxation so his policy is really no different, but he is making hay accusing Obama of socialism.
Obama could have avoided this whole attack by rasing taxes by 3% on everyone -- we have two wars and several bailouts fund, and it's clear we need to raise revenues.
Sad that many Americans are patriotic "as long as it doesn't inconvenience me or cost me any money." Do Americans really expect that their only additional contribution to the war should be magnetic ribbons and flags on their bumpers?
25 October 2008
Daytona Florida in the Daylight
Tourist towns, especially beach towns, always look a bit third-world in the light of day. Walking around Daytona Beach on an overcast October day had the same feeling one must get walking through a roadside carnival during setup or tear down.
Looking back at the hotels from the main pier I thought this could easily be any beach town accross the world. There were the same run-down looking buildings, and the same transient-looking people.
18 October 2008
Only Christians May Apply
14 October 2008
05 October 2008
Are you flipping me off?
I'm going to drop the folks at AutoSport a note and see if I can get a reply from them.
03 October 2008
Brad Koch for President
- Economic Policy.
Pay off current Financial Crisis by KEEPING IRAQ. Sunni / Shia my ass, you’re all Americans now. Everyone, say hello to the 51st state. I’m figuring I can pay off the trillion in my first term – we’ll just have to get rid of all of the foreigners who currently live there. - Energy Policy.
Screw Arizona. I’m going to cover the whole damn state in Solar Panels and power the U.S.A. with sunlight. What were all those retirees thinking moving to the surface of the sun just so they could waste water turning desert into golf courses. - Educational Policy.
The #1 cause of stupid kids are stupid parents. I’ll put birth control in the water (along with Fluoride) and you’ll need to score over 800 on your SAT to get the antidote. - Foreign Policy.
Invade Kamchatka as a base of operations for future Asian exploits - Health Care.
What health care. Eat an apple a day. (I'm open for donations from the banana lobby...)
My campaign is sweeping the nation!
See the latest news story!
26 September 2008
If McCain was a Democrat
- "All he did in his military services was crash three planes and get shot down in two others (once by an American pilot). Then he was captured. That's five kills -- all U.S. planes -- I guess that makes McCain a North Vietnamese Ace.
- "How did McCain betray American while in captivity? And which football team did he really name?"
- "Has McCain been brainwashed by the Vietcong while in prison? Will he go crazy in office?"
- "What psychological damage does he suffer from his time as a POW?"
Oh, and if Sarah Palin was a Democrat? Fox would be asking "If Sarah Palin can't keep teenage boys out of her teenage daughter's panties, how's she going to keep terrorists out of America?"
28 August 2008
The Partridge Family and Politics
15 August 2008
Sending Balls to Nanci Pelosi
- We know our idiot president lied about Iraqi WMDs, Iraqi ties to Al-Qaeda, and Iraqi attempts to buy nuclear materials.
- We know our idiot president ordered the CIA to forge documents to help sell his lies.
- We know our idiot president lied about torture.
- We know our idiot president lied about betraying an acting CIA agent.
- We know our idiot president lied about illegally wiretapping U.S. citizens.
Of course, we all know these things, but the democrats in congress are more worried about winning seats for their party than they are doing what’s right for the country.
If Nanci and the rest of the democrats had any balls, perhaps we’d be rid of our idiot president. Now that Russia has invaded Georgia, is anyone happy that our idiot president is still in office?
I'll follow up with any communications that come back from her office about the balls. Do you think they'll send a "thank you" card?
If you'd like to send some balls, send them here:
Nanci Pelosi
14th Floor
450 Golden Gate Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102
22 July 2008
21 July 2008
So you think you can dance
This combination of "parents"captures her perfectly. Donkey has her teeth, laugh, and the precursor to her many "woooooo-hooooos" on the show. Rosie just looks like her. Check her out for yourself.
24 February 2008
Dear Mr. Nader
How much are Karl Rove and Rupert Murdoch paying you to run for office?
Your arrogance put that idiot Bush in office and led to the biggest political disaster this country has ever seen.
As much as I've admired you over my life, I have nothing but contempt for you now.
Please, please, please, for the sake of the country, just go away.
Brad
02 February 2008
04 January 2008
Oprah the Jesus Inteview
Yes Oprah has the interview of the millenium, and her picture is still on the cover.
Has anyone else noticed her habit of interrupting a guest's story to relate it to herself?
Guest: "I overcame blindness to open my own restaurant.."
Oprah: "When I opened my own restaurant, with [insert name-drop here] , I had similar issues.
or
Guest: "I had to saw my own arm off to save myself after being trapped under a rock in the wilderness"."
Oprah: "I went hiking on my 5,000 acre farm and got lost. The Dali Lama rescued me."
Yep, she's done it all, and still hasn't found anyone more interesting that herself to put on the cover.
01 December 2006
15 November 2006
A Little Samuel L. Jackson Flavor
- LOL (laughing out out)
- BRB (be right back)
- TTFN (Ta-ta for now)
- LOLMF (laughing out loud muther fuc$er)
- BRBMF (be right back muther fuc$er)
- TTFNMF (Ta-ta for now muther fuc$er)
CUL8RMF...
19 September 2006
Letter to a Preacher
Traditional Values Coalition
139 "C" Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: (202) 547-8570
Fax: (202) 546-6403
Dear Rev. Louis P. Sheldon,
It's nice to see a Christian organization support the president in his assertion that he has the right to vigorously interrogate (okay, some squeamish folks might call it torture) any and all potential enemies of this country.
I think it was Jesus himself who said "torture your enemies". Oh wait, Jesus didn't say that, but Lord knows He would if he had to face these enemies of freedom. He'd recant that "love your enemies" stuff in a heartbeat if He was here today.
For the lord was clear that we must NOT "turn the other cheek" and we are NOT to treat others as we'd like them to treat us. Wait a minute, that's not right either. Freedom isn't free! Eye for an eye. Kill 'em all! That's better. We're to do to them what they do to us -- or do worse first.
Look we have to interrogate these "people" (and I put them in quotes because they're not christians) to protect ourselves. The fact that it may lead to similar treatment of our soldiers is not the worry of this administration, or the church -- we're all to old to have to serve and thus don't have to be concerned.
In God I Trust,
Brad
P.S. When can we start burning witches, or at least stone a few gays to death?
20 June 2006
Drinking & Nuns
14 June 2006
Signs of the Coming Dark Ages
Sign #2: Conservative Islam -- That's right, they're lobbying for society at large to accommodate their "modesty laws." Read the article, it's crazy.
Sign #3: The Jesus Pan -- Yes you can cook your food while burning the cross and a likeness of Jesus into your food. How better to "take the body of Christ" than to pull his head off a pancake!
Forgive Me...
The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection.
Still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' and 'One Nation Under God' bumper stickers and the chrome-plated fish emblem on the trunk. Forgive me, but I assumed you had stolen the car."
18 May 2006
11 April 2006
14 March 2006
Chicago Sportswriters, Hoosier Basketball & Hicks
So I decided to drop him a note, and much to my suprise, he wrote back immediately. My original note and his reply are shown below. The thread will make more sense if you read his article first.
My note to Mike:
I am one of the "three dozen" Hoosier non-hicks you apologized to in your column. I have an experiment I'd like you to try, and no it doesn't involve advanced flexibility or any of your orifices.
The experiment is simple: drive southwest out of Chicago for three hours. You'll find yourself in the middle of the same cornfields and farms that you see here in Indiana. In fact, central Illinois is even more backward than central Indiana. If not for Chicago, your entire state would be hicks.
The difference? Our hicks are smarter than your hicks. Illinois ranks 32nd among states in terms of educational achievement, while Indiana ranks 26th. That makes you guys just a bit smarter than the folks in Utah, and a bit dumber than those in Ohio. Ohio dude. You lost to Ohio. Other than Northwestern, your colleges are known more for the amount of beer consumed and the number of public nudity arrests than they are for academics -- or sporting success for that matter.
Lets talk sports. The Colts are better than the Bears. The Pacers can take the Bulls. Our minor league baseball franchise the Indians can probably take the Cubs 3 out of 5. No one cares about the White Sox or Blackhawks (hockey?). You have no motorsports to speak of, while we have the Indy 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Formula One race here.
All this said, you're welcome to visit any time. I'll buy you a drink or two and listen to you talk about IU basketball. I'll even point out any supermodel sports reporters sitting two seats away from us....
Mike's Reply:
Of all the angry notes I got from Hoosiers, Brad, yours was by far my favorite. You use a lot of good humor and make many good points. It was just me poking fun -- and anyone who read the piece saw that I poked more fun at myself than anything.
Yes, I do get away from Chicago -- and I've poked fun of "downstaters" and the "interesting" smells that come from the farms. Again, anyone who takes this stuff too personally has some problems.
I'd love to use your email in a future letters column. Please provide your hometown.
Thanks again for writing.
I look forward to seeing his forthcoming articles...
10 February 2006
But Republican's Don't Care
03 February 2006
Keep your god out of my cartoons!
02 February 2006
La Vida Cubicle
Laptop, shrine to bride, and a bamboo plant.
Umbrella with tag "for the occassional shit storm"
Potrait of my idol, Scott Meyers. Zoom in for the autograph.
You can visit his web site if you like.
19 January 2006
14 December 2005
Ass of the Year & Most Likely to Cause another War
The West has "fabricated a myth under the name 'Massacre of the Jews,' and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves,'' Iran's leader told thousands of supporters in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, in a speech aired live today on state television.
How ignorant and backward do the Iranian citizens have to be to elect this guy? I know he's pushed a populist message of job creation, housing and a focus on Iranian infrastructure -- but his recent messages are utterly irresponisble.
This dude makes our own president seem an emminently resonable Rhode's Scolar!
08 December 2005
Prancer meets Ted Nugent
The results were predictable, with Mr. Nugent quickly sending an arrow from his compound bow through Prancer's heart. "Hey, I've 'No Trespassing' signs all over this place. It's his fault for landing here." said Ted.
For his part Santa was stoic. "He was an old reindeer anyway. Prancer was one of the original reindeer, and if I had to lose one of them, it was best that Prancer was hit."
Asked if Mr. Nugent's "Not Nice" status would be changed by this event Santa noted that "Ever since Ted began stumping for that idiot 'Dubya' he's had no chance of getting on the 'good' list."
Visibly upset Santa continued, "That idiot president keeps saying global warming needs more study. Ho! Ho! Ho! perhaps the twerp should visit my house at the North Pole! It's like freakin' Venice Italy there -- the misses and I have to wear hip waders all the time, and I can't count the number of elves that have drowned!"
Memorial services for Prancer have been cancelled as Mr. Nugent has already dressed and prepared Prancer for a New Year's Eve dinner with his band.
Extreme Snow Removal
It's exactly what the name suggests, a 454 cubic inch Chevrolet big block engine built into a snowblower. The manufacturer says the snowblower "will send the snow back to it's maker".
Their site has a video of the snowblower in action as well. This would be blast to run up and down my driveway, sidewalk, street, interstate -- I doubt much would stop this thing.
07 December 2005
I am the Lord thy God....
03 December 2005
Worst Job Ever
01 December 2005
Chris Rock on a Crazy Year
"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is white, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the US of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick' and 'Colon'."
27 November 2005
Bathroom Humor -- an Ongoing Collection
- "Why are you looking up here? The joke is in your hand." (seen above a urinal)
- "You may hover above this seat, but I.U. crabs can jump three feet."
- "Go Colts! And take the Pacers with you!"
- "Jesus loves you." "The rest of us think you're a dick."
- "If your hose is short and pump is weak you better stand closer or you'll pee on your feet."
24 November 2005
No Pardon for Libby
November 8, 2005
The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The indictment of I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, marks the first time in 131 years that a senior White House official has been charged with a crime while still serving in the White House. The charges, while not yet proven, are extraordinarily serious and deeply disturbing.
Although it is too early to judge Mr. Libby guilty or innocent of these particular charges, it is not too early for you to reassure the American people that you understand the enormous gravity of the allegations. To this end, we urge you to pledge that if Mr. Libby or anyone else is found guilty vof a crime in connection with Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation, you will not exercise your authority to issue a Presidential pardon.
It is crucial that you make clear in advance that, if convicted, Mr. Libby will not be able to rely on his close relationship with you or Vice President Cheney to obtain the kind of extraordinarily special treatment unavailable to ordinary Americans. In addition you should do nothing to undermine Mr. Fitzgerald's investigation or diminish accountability in your White House. A pardon in these circumstances would signal that this White House considers itself above the law.
We also urge you to state publicly whether anyone in the White House B including White House counsel Harriet Miers or Vice President Cheney B has already discussed the possibility of a pardon with Mr. Libby. Particularly given that the American people are still in the dark about what precisely transpired in the White House with respect to the CIA leak, it would be highly inappropriate if there were such discussions going on behind the scenes.
Swift public action on your part will make clear that you take seriously perjury and obstruction of justice at the highest levels of our government and that you meant what you said about bringing Ahonor and dignity to the White House. We eagerly await your response and hope that you will announce your intentions promptly.
21 November 2005
A Good Christian Torturing
The lastest embarassment for the USA comes from the Bush administration's muddled message on their use of torture.
Mr. Bush recently stated with great vigor We do not torture.
Of course at the same time VP "Tricky" Dick Cheney was lobbying for permission to continue torturing detainees.
Then we learn that the CIA has a network of secret prisons set up around the globe.
You'd think the "holier than thou" Republicans would be outraged by this network of secret prisons and secret use of torture. You'd be wrong. Instead of addressing the damage done to the USA's reputation by these prisons, Republican leadership decided to attack the messenger.
Wonder what we're doing to people in those prisons? Wonder no longer, an ex-CIA officer describes the approved methods. These are the methods approved by Attorney General Gonzales, Rumsfeld and Cheney.
Of course the administration can never say "We're sorry" or "We're wrong". So they deny. They claim "Our methods are unique, but not really torture."
How much longer will his followers support him? How can they leave those "W" stickers on their cars. If they care about the Republican party at all, they'll clean house.
16 November 2005
11 November 2005
What would Jesus Drink?
We’ve all seen those “What would Jesus do?” bumper stickers and bracelets. Lately I’ve seen "Who would Jesus bomb?" stickers as well.
While this line of inquiry is all well and good, I have a more important question:
What would Jesus drink?
Jesus was a carpenter who associated with laborers, farmers and fishermen -- He didn't hang out with the rich, or the well-connected. With this information, perhaps we can make some assumptions about his drink:
- Martinis -- I doubt He drank martinis or any other drink that required a toothpick. They're just too "upper class" and besides, it's tough to look like the Messiah when you're gingerly sipping liquid from a martini glass.
- Margaritas -- He didn't drink these either, not frozen nor on the rocks. Look, tequila can make you do some really stupid things (I know) and He couldn't afford to risk it. Suppose He got drunk on tequila and started forgiving everyone unconditionally? With unconditional forgiveness, where would the church be?
- Rum Runners -- He most certainly didn't drink anything that comes in a glass with a little umbrella.
- Wine -- We know He turned water into wine at a wedding, and He served wine at the last supper, but those were special occasions. He was ensuring everyone had a good time and wanted to impress his guests with the full-bodied, blood-of-your-savior, smoky flavor he could create.
- Beer -- I tend to think of Jesus as a beer drinker. Beer fits better with his demographic. Carpenters, farmers and fishermen don't "pop open a bottle of wine", they down a beer. Saving the world is hard work and beer quenches thirst better than wine. Plus beer doesn't give you that killer tannin-induced headache the next day. Jesus couldn't afford to be grumpy and hung-over.
09 November 2005
Mr. Bush -- Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!
Of course Mr. Bush told us this before we learned that Alberto Gonzales, Mr. Bush's White House Counsel, advised him that the Geneva Conventions were "quaint" and that in his opinion, Mr. Bush could order torture if he desired.
Mr. Bush's assertions came before Mr. Gonzales' Attorney General confirmation hearings where we learned that according to the Bush administration "the anti-torture statutes don't apply to the CIA, private contractors and prisoners held in foreign countries."
Mr. Bush's assertions came before we learned that the CIA has secret prison / torture facilities in foreign countries around the world -- thus freeing them from US law.
Mr. Bush's lies came before we learned that VP "Tricky Dick" Cheney was actively pushing a proposal in the Senate that would exempt the CIA from pending anti-torture legislation.
Mr. Bush, never one to let facts or reality intrude on his view of the world, and in contrast to his V.P. concurrent lobbying, just recently reiterated that "We do not torture."
So Mr. Bush is either incompetent or a liar. His administration is lobbying for permission to continue torturing people. The CIA has setup secret prisons under his watch. He knew all this when his administration tried to bury the blame on hard-working U.S. Soldiers who have been disgraced or jailed for doing nothing more than implementing his policy. While he's telling us "we don't torture" his VP is simultaneously lobbying for continued permission to do just that!
We impeached the last president for lying about a sexual indiscretion. Isn't this much worse?! When will the sheep in the media and his must-be-brain-dead supporters hold him accountable?
02 November 2005
25 October 2005
It's Never Bush's Fault!
It's the liberals. It's the ACLU. It's Clinton. It's Monica. It's the "climate of permissiveness". It's France. It's the liberal media. It's Clinton's p*nis. It's Hillary. It's Gov. Dean. We never could have known they'd fly planes into buildings. "No actionable intelligence". They didn't tell us to do anything. O'Neill's lying. Clarke's lying. General Shinseki's lying. The Union of Concerned Scientists is lying. Our own weapons inspector Scott Ritter, an ex-Marine and veteran of the the first Gulf war, is lying. Bush's hand-picked successor to Ritter, David Kay, is lying. Joe Wilson's lying. John Dean's lying. Newsweek lied! CBS lied! Everyone's lying but us. We had to lie. We never lied.
Medicaid reforms will cost only $400 billion. Medicade reform will cost $740 billion. Scooter says he'd fire the employee who tells congress that the reform will cost more than $400 billion. Canada's health care is worse!
Plame outed herself. Her husband outed her. The liberals outed her. No one outed her, since everyone already knew her covert identity. Rove had nothing to do with it. Cheney had nothing to do with it. "Scooter" Libby had nothing to do with it. No comment. Lib'ral, lib'ral, lib'ral.
It's the libs that tried to pull Schiavo's feeding tube. It doesn't matter that DeLay pulled his own dad's feeding tube. "Culture of life". It's Janet Jackson's boobs; it's the Statue of Justice's boobs. Reading the news might cloud my judgement. It's the "decade our government...blinded itself to our enemies". It's the homosexuals wanting to marry. "Restore honor and dignity to the White House". A decision to go to war wasn't a decision to go to war. "No actionable intelligence". It's the pledge of allegiance. They're taking God out of America. Osama didn't tell us when, how, where, and by what means he'd attack, and he didn't leave a forwarding address. The 9/11 panel is biased against us. Saddam = Al Qaida. Saddam = Al Qaida.
Chalabi's an honorable man and I believe everything he says about WMDs. Chalabi's a crook and he passed secrets to Iran. Chalabi's the liberals' fault because they didn't shoot us when we started using his "intelligence". Chalabi? I don't know any 'Chalabi'!
"I'm against the 9/11 commission." "I'm for the 9/11 commission." "I'll won't testify before the commission." I will testify, but only if Dick Cheney is with me." "I won't testify under oath." "They hate us for our freedom."
It's just a few dead-enders. They'll be gone when we capture Saddam. "Mission Accomplished." They'll be gone when we capture Saddam's sons. They'll be gone when we hand over "sovereignty". They'll be gone when Iraq has elections. They'll be gone in 12 years. They'll never be gone.
We fight them in London so we don't have to fight them, er, uh, well, can't get fooled again! Don't forget Poland! Palau is on our side!
Bolton didn't lie! He just knowingly gave inaccurate answers under oath!
Aw, so what's another ISLAMIC STATE in the mideast? It's not like Bush has made it a home for terrorists or anything!
We had to lie to support the war. They'll throw flowers at our feet. They have unmanned aircraft that can drop biological weapons on us. Well, they had plans for unmanned aircraft. They had a students remote controlled airplane. It was 5 feet long! They don't like us!
It's all these former staffers hawking their books. Money never corrupted anyone. "I'm a uniter, not a divider!" It's the stem cells. It's the feminazis, the intellectual elitists, and the ecoterrorists.
It's the Hurricane, It's the victims. It's the poor. It's the dead. It's the disabled... the elderly. It's those that didn't evacuate. It's the buses.
It's Cthulhu. It's the martians, It's Mickey Mouse, It's The Tooth Fairy, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,
It's ALWAYS anyone but Bush!
20 October 2005
World's Strongest Man! How does he do it?
My Mom Gets a New Knee
Maybe it runs in the family because by the end of this year I'll have had surgery on both shoulders and both knees. It's time to stop abusing my body's joints.
So no more weights (at least anything heavy) and more cardio. I guess I'll have to learn to play golf...ouch.
19 October 2005
100MPG in a "Greed-Rodded" Prius
Of course none of this is new. Those crazy hippies at Mother's magazine acheived 129 MPG in 1980 in an admittedly low performance car. Still the older article is still a nice read.
When you're done updating your car for maximum mileage, grab this book to continue the modifcation process.
14 October 2005
Home Made Air Conditioner
Coolest Party Trick Ever!
13 October 2005
Separation of Church and Brains
Not that I'm religious (I'm a big fan of Joseph Campbell's writings), but I do hope this notion takes root and prevents the faithful from ruining this country.
Bush to Mother Nature: "Bring it On Bitch!"
BUSH TO MOTHER EARTH: “BRING IT ON!”
by (Associated Press Internacionalé) Wednesday, Sep. 28, 2005 at 6:34 PM
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 - In the wake of devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Bush administration today announced a dramatic shift in the nation's security policy. “While our attention was focused on fighting evildoers,” said the president. “Our country was attacked by a new enemy, Mother Nature. But from now on America will be prepared,” said Bush. “To you Mother Nature, I say ‘Bring it on!'
Read the rest at neworleans.indymedia.org
03 October 2005
Intelligent Design has Met Its Match!
A group has proposed a new, equally-viable theory of creation using the lowered standards of what may qualify as "science" in Kansas .
Check out their web site for the full FSM theory and responses from the Kansans school board, scientists and others.
It's a funny read and statement of how truly sad this is for the country.
(kudos to Mr. Cohn for sending me the link to this site.)
01 October 2005
New Evidence Explains How Noah Gathered All Those Animals!
Oh, and don't forget to explore their web site. There is much truth to be found there.
Will Reality Ever Intrude?
Don't our General's know that they're not supposed to tell the truth? How long before Karl Rove is in charge of all military communications?
Freakin' idiots.
30 September 2005
Cooking an Egg . . . with your Cell Phone
29 September 2005
Great Posters from Whitehouse.org!
Lazy "he said -- she said" media and the bastards at FOX "News" got you down? Check out this selection of posters.
28 September 2005
No sex tonight. . .
Chris Rock Makes Me Laugh
26 September 2005
United We Stand
The "United We Stand" bumper stickers have begun to annoy me. "United We Stand" despite the evidence of lies? Despite the failed policies? This whole faith-based politics thing scares me. Just as proven physical evidence won't change a creationist's mind, fact and proven incompentence won't change the minds of the republican faithful. All we need now are a few good clerics and a bishop or three and we're back in the dark ages.
22 September 2005
Dubya's Math Skills
He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."
"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, the President looks up and asks, "Now, how many is a brazillion?"
21 September 2005
Google knows Bush is a failure!
Said in a recent meeting...
20 September 2005
Bush is Invincible
Mercedes Fish-Inspired Car
Words of Wisdom
-- Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Danbury Baptists, 1802.
You'll find a summary of Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on religious freedom via the University of Virginia's Jefferson Library.
18 September 2005
Biblical Law in the United States
15 September 2005
Kanye West, President Bush and TShirt Hell
"Kanye West said that President Bush doesn't care about black people. I think this was an incredibly insensitive statement. It was especially hurtful to the hundreds of millions of other people the President doesn't care about."
-- TShirt Hell Newsletter 09/15/2005.
Made me laugh, thought you might too.
13 September 2005
Bush Suspends Wage Laws
Haliburton "lost" $8.8 billion servicing our troops in Iraq. Enron created a fake energy crisis that bankrupted their company while helping the Bush Administration get their (excuse me, Exxon's) energy policy passed. And while consumers are paying gas prices that are higher than ever, Big Oil is reporting record profits.
Hmmmm. These guys really have the U.S. citizen's best interest in mind don't they?
12 September 2005
08 September 2005
Our Lt. Governor Feels a Sense of Privilege
A co-worker recently took this picture showing Ms. Skillman's Tahoe parked in a handicapped spot.
What kind of character does it take to break this law just to avoid walking a few extra feet on a sunny day? Evidently, Lt. Governor Betty Skillman feels that she should be able to break the law and inconvenience people with real handicaps. If she's willing to break little laws for her personal convenience does that make her more or less likely to break larger laws that could impact us all?
Bad judgement on trivial items shows a lack of respect for others and the law.
29 August 2005
A little something for my geeky author friend
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22 August 2005
It's time
It's time for the neocons to stand down – their ideology has proven to be disastrously wrong. They’ve miscalculated and created situations where American lives are being lost that needn’t be lost.
I kindly request that the next time the Secretary of Defense feels that he has erred so egregiously that he turns in his resignation (twice!), that President Bush accept it. Loyalty to incompetence is not a virtue.
It’s time to end the supply-side madness. Trickle down economics is failing to help the average American citizen and is creating debt that would worry even former president Reagan. Gee, isn’t that what happened last time we spent like crazy?
It's time for the administration to stop using religion to divide us. We’re not all born-again Christians. We’re not all Christians. We’re not all believers. It's time for the religious right in this country to stop claiming they're being victimized -- while they work night and day to end the separate of church and state that grants them the very freedom to speak as they do. They’re beginning to act like the American Taliban.
This country needs a moment of science, a moment of fact, and most desperately a clear accounting of this administrations actions.
18 August 2005
Red Bull vs. Alcohol
The Red Bull wakes you up, and the vodka makes you drunk. Thus the conflict -- the stimulants of Red Bull mix fighting the depressant effects of the alcohol in the Vodka’s alcohol. My body was host to this battle last Wednesday night.
Let’s cover the quantitative information first. I consumed approximately eight drinks. Judging from the size of the drinks I’d guess it was eight shots of vodka and six cans of Red Bull.
Now on to bodily battleground. When I got home (I didn’t drive) I was drunk enough to fall asleep nearly immediately. However, it turns out that my body can process alcohol much faster than it can process caffeine. Thus three hours after falling asleep I wake up in the full “wide-awake-and-wired” mode.
I get up and head downstairs and flip on the TV. Jules hears me, and wakes up as well. Now it’s 4:30 am and we’re both awake. “I, Robot” is just starting. We watch the movie, the sun rise, and each have a bowl of cereal before we start our day.