Gannon? What Gannon?

Ted points at a Salon article that asks why so few major news outlets are actually govering the Guckert story.

Wonder Why Liberals Can't Win Lately?

It's because of whiny, self-righteous assholes like this.

I'd like to see some service members family group demand this clown be fired from NPR.

Re-redistricting

Hey, it worked in Texas, so let's try it in Georgia too!

Thanks to Joshua Marshall for the link...

Canada Opts Out of Missile Shield

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7017950/

So the Canadians think that the missile shield will instigate a new arms race and don't want to be involved. So, IOW, Canada has no desire to protect itself.

Hunter Thompson Dead at 67

I picked up my Gonzo nickname from this guy. Here's the news item.

While I didn't always agree with him, HST was a unique presence in the journalism world. He will be sorely missed.

More on Rove/Gannon

<*sigh*>

Oil Traders Beat the Crap Out of Protesters

From nicedoggie.net:

Eeeeeeeevil Oil Barons™- 1, Socialist Shitstain Idiotarians- 0

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Breathe* BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Must........ breathe.....* BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Hurts......... so....... badly....*

You may be wondering *Woooo-hooo-hooo* what has managed to bring the Imperial Game Room™ *snort* to its collective knees in uncontrollable merriment & spasms of laughter. *heheheheheh* Well, in answer to what Enquiring Minds™ are wanting to know, *chortle* LC Phnx started us laughing at this Karmic Retribution™ that will certainly be enshrined within the Hallowed Walls of the Imperial ClueClubbing™ Hall of Fame. Between fits of laughing and crying, we just HAD to give it our 2 Imperial Drachmas worth. Hell, even the headline gives us a chuckle.

Kyoto protest beaten back by inflamed petrol traders

Nothing beats "inflamed petrol traders" for beating back a flock of patchouli oil-covered fleabags, is there? Unless, of course, we're talking about "flaming petrol" being used. That would add to Global Worming™ and would be considered, at least among of Eeeeeeevil Konservatives™, as A Very Good Thing™ heaped upon an already Good Thing™.

WHEN 35 Greenpeace protesters stormed the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) yesterday they had planned the operation in great detail.

But, as you'll soon see, their "plan" failed almost as miserably as Mickey Mooron dressing up in a fishnet T-back micro bikini and doing a tapioca pudding-covered pole dance in an attempt to arouse an all-female audience of Mormons...

What they were not prepared for was the post-prandial aggression of oil traders who kicked and punched them back on to the pavement.

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That brings to mind the famous mythical last quote of Gen. George Armstrong Custer: "Where'd all these fuckin' Indians come from?!!!" (Note to the Drooling Dolts of DUh: That's what we refer to as a "joke". It was, in no way, intended as a slight towards Native Americans. Thankyouverymuch.)

“We bit off more than we could chew. They were just Cockney barrow boy spivs. Total thugs,” one protester said, rubbing his bruised skull. “I’ve never seen anyone less amenable to listening to our point of view.”

That's what happens when people, who've eaten a few too many purple ringers, think that their "point of view" should be listened to, just because they know how to hold Shit 'n' Puke Fests™ and illegally disrupt other people's lives, all the while blocking out anyone else's "point of view" that might challenge their unprovable theory of Man-made Global Worming™. (You DO remember all of those Ice Age SUV's of Doom™ that were responsible for melting the glaciers that were milling about aimlessly and smoking little Ice Cigarettes™ around Manhattan Island, don't you?)

Another said: “I took on a Texan Swat team at Esso last year and they were angels compared with this lot.” ...

We're quite sure that you didn't "take on a Texan Swat team" in any manner resembling the bullshit bravado with which that statement was so obviously made, you mewling mulch muncher.

...Behind him, on the balcony of the pub opposite the IPE, a bleary-eyed trader, pint in hand, yelled: “Sod off, Swampy.”

Heheheheheh........ Brit insults can be so very concise, yet so very refreshingly poignant, can't
they? Spot on, mate!

Greenpeace had hoped to paralyse oil trading at the exchange in the City near Tower Bridge on the day that the Kyoto Protocol came into force. ...

And thus causing even more people to lose their jobs, due to disruptions in the production/distribution/consumption chain that these cretinous microcephalics so utterly failed to grasp the concept of whilst huffing model airplane glue, instead of actually attending classes in Economics 101.

...“The Kyoto Protocol has modest aims to improve the climate and we need huge aims,” a spokesman said.

We've got plenty of "aim" over here. If you fucknozzles weren't so obscured by the Fog of Idiocy™ that surrounds you, we'd be able to take a clear shot and end your miserable existences. Remember, it'd be For The Children™. Consider it a long-overdue post-natal abortion. We ARE Pro-Choice™ in that matter. Just "choose" which caliber you want delivered. We're all about "choice".

Protesters conceded that mounting the operation after lunch may not have been the best plan.

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Stop it already!!! Yer killin' us!!!

“The violence was instant,” Jon Beresford, 39, an electrical engineer from Nottingham, said.

Instant ClueClubbing™! "Imparting Clue in a Third the Time!™"
There's so much more, but you'll have to go read the rest for yourselves. We have to go see a thoracic specialist about these ribs. *Heheheheheh... Owwwwwww!*

"The party of ... Lynne Stewart ..."

...because everyone knows those darn Democrats just love aiding and abetting terrorists...

style.org > Parsing the State of the Union

This is such a cool tool.

Recommended searches:

Osama
Sadam
Terror

but surprisingly

Distruction
Nucular

can't be found... ;)

Lieberman the next Defense Secretary?

Now, that would be interesting. Here's the Washington Post story.

Social Security Gridlock

MSNBC -
Republicans caution Bush on Social Security: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6956156/

Yeah, forget the whole thing. It’s just too hard and we might have to sacrifice something today. Let’s wait until there is nothing at all in the fund so we can sacrifice our old age instead.

Question: Didn’t FDR seem to suggest that he favored private social security accounts?

Answer from Robert Reich after he suggested he is a scholar in the area of FDR:
“I know what happened. And FDR was talking about, not private Social security accounts, he was talking about separate social security accounts, exactly the system we have today.”
Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under the Clinton Administration
Quoted February 4, 2005 speaking on the Big Show to John Gibson on FoxNews

What FDR said:
”It is proposed that the Federal Government assume one-half of the cost of the old-age pension plan, which ought ultimately to be supplanted by self-supporting annuity plans… voluntary contributory annuities, by which individual initiative can increase the annual amounts received in old age.”
FDR, July 17, 1935, Message to Congress on Social Security

Definition of supplant:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=supplanted
sup·plant () (s-plnt)tr.v. sup·plant·ed, sup·plant·ing, sup·plants
To usurp the place of, especially through intrigue or underhanded tactics.
To displace and substitute for (another): The word processor has largely supplanted electric typewriters.

Congress involves Plame special prosecutor in Gannon case

How did Gannon get access to classified documents about Valerie Plame, anyway?

Scientists ordered to change findings

Gee, what a surprise.</sarcasm>

New Blogger comment interface

Much nicer than the old one, IMAO.

The U.N. at 60

A very thoughtful op-ed on the future of the U.N. and the U.S. co-authored by Newt Gingrich and George Mitchell can be found here.

Pseudonymic White House press credentials?

Didn't think that was possible. In any case, he resigned when people figured out who he actually was.

Lego my dulcimer!

NRP ran a story this weekend about someone who built an Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer... out of Legos.

Boston rocks -- mostly...

http://www.livejournal.com/community/metaquotes/2515487.html

Boston can win the Super Bowl... they can even win the World Series... but they can't f***ing win the Presidency when our country needs it the most?!!

Don't speak your mind if you have tenure

This article looks like it's going to get a tenured professor fired.

I'm having the darnedest time finding things to disagree with, after I get past the knee-jerk "How dare he"...

Terry Jones' War on the War on Terror

Mother Jones on Terry Jones.

George Bush as Deep Throat?

Now that's an interesting theory...

MoveOn to FactCheck -- "nice try".

Or, as Atrios says, "bite me".

In this sense, MoveOn.org has referred to benefit "cuts" in exactly the same way as the president. If Fact Check only considers a cut as a reduction against current benefit levels, then it should correct the president and other proponents of privatization who routinely warn of benefit cuts.

In fact, this is the same way that Fact Check itself has referred to benefit cuts...

Ayyyiiii

Our blog is crosslinked with a cutie lovers blog! Oh, the humanity.

Military Quote of the Day

I can't believe this guy, Lt. Gen James Mattis (USMC) is being blasted by the media, for saying the following:

"Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling. You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."

Sounds like your typical Marine to me. Also sounds right. It would be fun to shoot Osama Bin Laden or Al Zarkawi.

The Social Security Challenge

Wow. Seems like we all have good ideas about Social Security. Here's my challenge (it'll be fun!). Let's see if we can reach total agreement on reforms to Social Security. Then, we can put that in a letter to our Senators and Reps as a bipartisan, reasoned solution.

My, list, taken from the one you all seemed to agree with:

1. Raise income level for SS Tax to $200,000 but create a bottom cap of $35,000.
2. In conjunction with point 1, lower the SS Tax rate by 1%.
2. Tax incentives for employers to supplement employee's personal 401Ks.

Your turn.

UPDATE: Colorado already enacted a property tax exemption for seniors: http://www.co.teller.co.us/Assessor/SeniorExemption.htm

Patty Murray on Gonzales

Dear [Garrett]:

Thank you for contacting me about the nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales to be Attorney General of the United States. I appreciate knowing your views on this important nomination.

I voted against confirming Mr. Gonzales when the Senate considered his nomination on February 3, 2005. Mr. Gonzales was confirmed by a vote of 60-36. I have heard from many Washingtonians regarding this nomination. There are several issues that call into question Mr. Gonzales’ qualifications to be our nations’ next Attorney General. The Attorney General has a direct impact on the rights, lives, and liberties of every American. He is not merely an advisor to the president. He is the chief law enforcement officer of our country. Because of these unique responsibilities, an attorney general must meet certain standards.

I examined Mr. Gonzales’ record in Texas, at the White House, and before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As White House Counsel, his record shows a troubling pattern of "finding in the law" the answers that his superiors sought. Mr. Gonzales approved standards of torture that defy U.S. law, international agreements, and the Constitution. Time and again, Mr. Gonzales has stood up for government secrecy and blocked accountability to the American people. As then-Governor Bush’s counsel, Mr. Gonzales prepared 57 briefs summarizing the clemency requests of prisoners who were facing execution. In these briefs, Mr. Gonzales left out exculpatory evidence and key facts that might have warranted further review.

I voted against Mr. Gonzales because he has not shown the independence and integrity to be Attorney General, and because his record does not inspire the public confidence necessary in America's highest law enforcement officer. I am still very concerned about his willingness to enforce laws when they conflict with the policies supported by the White House. Mr. Gonzales’ personal story is inspiring, and as he undertakes his new role, I hope that his actions in office will prove me wrong.

Again, thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts on this important nomination. If I can be of future assistance, please be in touch.

Sincerely,

Patty Murray
United States Senator

Republicans admit that privatization will reduce trust fund

http://newsobserver.com/24hour/politics/story/2087170p-10152136c.html

"The AARP and the Democrats think if you divert some money from the trust fund," the existing program will be undermined, [the subcommittee's current chairman] McCrery said. "That is true on its face. It does decrease the level of the trust fund. Politically, that's going to be a very strong tool that (opponents) can use to defeat a plan."

Social Security - A Thoughtful Approach

I've been doing some research and have found that our SS benefit payment is just about the highest in the industrialized world. For example, your average Canadian pensioneer receives about $440 CDN per month (!!!). So our benefit, roughly $1,100 a month per retiree, is pretty good. Of course, God forbid you actual have a private annuity or pension, in which case your SS benefit is taxed up to 85% (As of 1993 - Thanks, Bill!).

Traditionally, Social Security reforms are proposed by a bipartisan commission. The most successful of those was in 1983 - when the system was truly in crisis.

Do we have a benefit crisis now? No. Even the most ardent doomsayers say that we're operating at a surplus for the next 13 years. However, there is a taxation issue: SS taxes keep going up. While the tax rate hasn't changed in a few years, the taxable income cap has ballooned, in the last few years from $75,000 to $83,000 to $86,000 and, next year, to $90,000.

So when a Democrat or Republican tell you they haven't raised SS taxes, that's plain bullshit.

Right now, we have both parties screaming. The GOP is screaming crisis, and the Democrats are screaming about risks and hidden benefit reductions. It's really confusing and hard to get an objective read on what works best.

The Democrats have discussed raising the taxable SS cap to $200,000. While this certainly would solve the problem, it's inherently unfair to high-income earners because, after taxes, they will never collect a fraction of what they have paid. Sometimes I think the Democratic concept of fairness ends at about the $100K a year level, on the other hand, one could argue I suppose that those at higher income levels aren't as affected by this tax.

Another problem is survivor benefits. When you die, except for a small survivor benefit to your spouse and minor children, all other monies are returned to the government. There is nothing to pass on to your family regardless of the ratio of SS taxes paid versus collected benefits.

I'm still on the fence as to what should be done to the program, but I'd like to see the following revisions:

1. A death benefit should be paid to a deceased's estate, proportional to any surplus between his lifetime contributions and total benefits paid...perhaps equal to 10% of the surplus. I think that's fair.
2. Employers should be encouraged by corporate tax benefits to increase their contributions to individual's IRA or 401Ks. If an employee doesn't have a 401K, the employer could establish one and contribute regardless of employee contribution.
3. Raise the SS income cap to $250,000, but create a bottom cap of $35,000 - no income below that level is SS taxed. Reduce the actual tax rate by 1%.
4. Here's one for the Bush 'ownership society' initiative: Exempt seniors from property taxes on the first $250,000 of taxable value of their primary residence - have those tax revenues substituted by a federal property tax on investment properties and vacation homes.
5. Subsidize via tax deduction the individual purchase of local, state, and federal bonds as retirement investments.
6. Put together a test group of 1,000 wage earners. Allow them to invest 4% of SS in sanctioned investments as Bush wants. At the end of 5 years, bring in an independent auditing firm to compare where the test group is compared to where they would be normally, and study the impact on SS Trust Fund revenues.

So these are my crazy ideas. Any thoughts?

A question of numbers

Did everyone see Roger Lowenstein's article in the NYT magazine?

In 1934, when Franklin Roosevelt formed the Committee on
Economic Security to design what was in effect the first
federal safety net, the committee hired three actuaries
to stargaze into the future. The actuaries predicted that
the proportion of Americans over 65 -- then only
5.4 percent -- would rise to 12.65 percent in 1990,
meaning that retiree costs would soar. They were just a
tad high; the actual figure would be 12.49 percent.

"You do not own their courage."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6861528/#050131, scroll down.

Super-geniuses at the DOD

Smooth move, Ex-lax.

"Of concern, DOD interrogators impersonating Supervisory Special Agents of the FBI told a detainee that [redacted]. These same interrogation teams then [redacted]. The detainee was also told by this interrogation team [redacted]. These tactics have produced no intelligence of a threat neutralization nature to date and CITF believes that techniques have destroyed any chance of prosecuting this detainee. If this detainee is ever released or his story made public in any way, DOD interrogators will not be held accountable because these torture techniques were done the "FBI" interrogators. The FBI will be left holding the bag before the public."

Frank's Advice for the State of The Union Address

From http://imao.us (which is way funny, if crude sometimes)

FRANK ADVICE FOR THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

* Don't start out saying something bland like, "The state of the Union is good," say something more colorful like, "That state of the Union is fan-tas-great!"
* Casually mention how you were reelected, such as, "I was like totally reelected 'cause Democrats suck!" This also makes sure people don't think this State of the Union Address is a rerun.
* You should mention the Iraqi elections, but don't gloat about it. Sneak it in there saying something like, "You were probably too distracted by the success of the Iraqi elections to notice how great the economy is doing."
* A lot of the Democrat base is going to oppose you no matter what. Simply scare them into compliance by taking out a lighter, holding it up, and saying, "I control fire! Fear me!"
* Each time there is a standing ovation and the Democrats stay seated, squirt them with a super-soaker. Eventually they'll learn to stand and applaud too.
* If you really want to drive a point home, destroy your podium with a judo chop as you say it.
* Mention how diverse your cabinet, but don't say, "Hell, my staff meetings look just like that subway car John Rocker described." That reference is too old and liable to go over many people’s heads.
* Promise to end hostage taking like the one reported yesterday by proposing a new initiative to crack down on shoplifting.
* The Democrats are going to try to scare seniors to be against your Social Security plan, so preemptively scare them first.
"The Democrats may tell you lies about my plans to save Social Security, but remember that, while they tell them, they have other people behind you STEALING YOUR PILLS!"
* Propose more tax cuts. I like those.
* Bring some Iraqis who voted to the State of the Union Address. When you point them out, make sure they have a mike so everyone can hear them yell, "You Democrats wanted us to die in tyranny. I will have your blood!" Pause for a while as they attack the Democrats before continuing on with the speech.
* Say you’re going to improve education for everyone, leading to "smarter nerds, and stronger bullies."
* Have that guy who brings animals and appears on Letterman a lot come to the podium with some monkeys. He's always entertaining.
* Remember: Indoor fireworks are totally dangerous and totally hitler!
* A great ending would be for a disco ball to descend from the ceiling and then the Republicans dance the night away. If the Democrats protest and say that doesn't show proper reverence, it will just make them look like no fun ninnies whom we should throw bricks at.

Ok, this has nothing to do with politics, but...

We need more cowbell.

MediaMuddles Alert on Al Franken

David Crock, from MediaMuddles, writes: "Today, at 9:27 PST, Al Franken on the Al Franken show claimed that 'Truman integrated the military' when, in fact, it was Republican President Eisenhower who integrated the military. Neither Franken's co-hosts, nor subsequent callers to the show challenged the obvious intentional lie! We here at MediaMuddles will be writing letters to AirAmerica demanding a correction! - as soon as my lithium wears off and I can write."

MediaMuddles - Challenging minor gaffes to paranoid absurdity!